Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 27,195 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 388,606 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 27,195 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Franklin Resources worth $8,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital A Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 3,869.2% during the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 177.1% in the 2nd quarter. Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. now owns 1,283 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $27.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.20. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $28.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 122.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BEN. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $25.89.

Franklin Resources Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.