S&CO Inc. Trims Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

S&CO Inc. trimmed its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 50.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 23,245 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 23,250 shares during the period. S&CO Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 277.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,150 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the period. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $32.68 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.10 and a 52-week high of $34.92. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.95, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.16. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 8.12%.The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Evercore restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

About Franklin Resources

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.