Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 45,735 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Wright Investors Service Inc. lessened its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 67.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 22,049 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 45,735 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $432,730,000 after purchasing an additional 599,045 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $147,312,000 after buying an additional 422,688 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $158,582,000 after buying an additional 676,760 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $71,171,000 after acquiring an additional 54,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after acquiring an additional 925,590 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $18.95 on Tuesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.83 and a 1 year high of $28.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The business’s 50-day moving average is $21.28 and its 200-day moving average is $21.23. The company has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.41.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.75%. This is a boost from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 148.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total value of $345,309.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,519 shares in the company, valued at $1,596,245.49. This trade represents a 17.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.50 to $22.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.73.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides its services to individuals, institutions, pension plans, trusts, and partnerships. It launches equity, fixed income, balanced, and multi-asset mutual funds through its subsidiaries.