Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 37,044 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 56.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,281 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 37,044 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,563,774 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $161,338,000 after buying an additional 415,512 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 7.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,053,751 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $75,061,000 after acquiring an additional 202,288 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,840,863 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $45,248,000 after purchasing an additional 14,896 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 138.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,750,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $43,034,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015,225 shares during the period. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 53.6% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,188,199 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $35,396,000 after purchasing an additional 414,826 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.50.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $23.38 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $26.79 and a 200-day moving average of $26.37. The company has a market cap of $12.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.88 and a 1-year high of $30.32.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.30%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

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.