Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Sells 1,106 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co decreased its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,223 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 1,106 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 254.4% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 12.1% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 35,806 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $721,000 after buying an additional 3,875 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 28.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 245,148 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $4,940,000 after buying an additional 54,765 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 33.5% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 36,289 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 9,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 39,678 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $800,000 after acquiring an additional 8,468 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 2.9 %

NYSE BEN opened at $19.27 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $18.83 and a one year high of $28.08.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.64%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 196.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on BEN. UBS Group increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.86.

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.