Delta Investment Management LLC Has $409,000 Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Delta Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,740 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 1,876 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 240.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 882 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 975.5% in the third quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 1,140 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 149.1% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,111 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BEN shares. TD Cowen started coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.50.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE BEN traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $24.99. 7,535,980 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,588,434. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $26.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.88 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.07. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.15% and a net margin of 12.30%. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.96%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 65.26%.

About Franklin Resources

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.