Foundation Resource Management Inc. Sells 13,389 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Foundation Resource Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 572,379 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 13,389 shares during the period. Franklin Resources makes up 1.9% of Foundation Resource Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Foundation Resource Management Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $11,614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BEN. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 250.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $54,664,000 after buying an additional 1,751,587 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 263.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,744,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465,148 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 517.5% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,406,324 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $31,431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,594 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 925,590 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 110.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,623,236 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $36,279,000 after purchasing an additional 851,442 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total value of $345,309.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,596,245.49. This trade represents a 17.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 22.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.55.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $19.41 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $21.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.41. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.83 and a 12 month high of $28.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

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

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.59%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 148.84%.

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.