Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Cuts Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co reduced its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,223 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 1,106 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 263.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465,148 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $75,928,000 after buying an additional 1,449,210 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,809 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $765,254,000 after buying an additional 1,095,373 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,923,399 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $59,316,000 after acquiring an additional 709,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,517,598 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $30,792,000 after acquiring an additional 658,977 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $19.27 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $10.12 billion, a PE ratio of 29.64, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s fifty day moving average is $20.15 and its 200 day moving average is $20.58. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.83 and a 52 week high of $28.08.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 196.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.86.

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.