Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Sells 1,477 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS trimmed its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 65,695 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 1,477 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 122,116 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,478,000 after buying an additional 5,527 shares during the period. FreeGulliver LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth $231,000. Xponance Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 43,687 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $886,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennondale Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth $1,593,000. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.3 %

BEN stock opened at $20.01 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.57. The company has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. 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 12 month low of $18.83 and a 12 month high of $28.15.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.40%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 196.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on BEN shares. Barclays upped their price target on 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 raised their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources 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.