Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Holdings Trimmed by Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 211,592 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 121,931 shares during the quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $4,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 26.2% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 148,049 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,850,000 after buying an additional 30,763 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 169.3% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,909 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 4,972 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 41.1% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,189 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $504,000 after acquiring an additional 7,634 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $389,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 143,192 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $3,415,000 after acquiring an additional 3,008 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN opened at $24.38 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 1.86. The company has a market cap of $12.70 billion, a PE ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $26.29 and a 200-day moving average of $24.40. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.25 and a 52-week high of $28.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.15. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 6.97%.The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 122.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BEN. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $25.89.

About Franklin Resources

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.