Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Shares Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,839,332 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 1,838,085 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $158,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $76,051,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $60,618,000. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth approximately $51,384,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth $32,293,000. Finally, Natixis increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 6,959.8% during the second quarter. Natixis now owns 584,414 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $13,938,000 after acquiring an additional 576,136 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of BEN opened at $27.24 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 1.86. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $27.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.46.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. Analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 122.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BEN shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $25.89.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

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.