Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Lowers Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 103,491 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 11,968 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $432,730,000 after purchasing an additional 599,045 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 10.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $158,582,000 after buying an additional 676,760 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $71,171,000 after acquiring an additional 54,063 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after acquiring an additional 925,590 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 250.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $54,664,000 after acquiring an additional 1,751,587 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total value of $369,923.23. Following the sale, the insider now owns 51,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,020.11. This represents a 14.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375. Company insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.66.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $21.34 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $30.32. The stock has a market cap of $11.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $21.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.57.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 148.84%.

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.