Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Sells 77,577 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 725,800 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 77,577 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd owned 0.14% of Franklin Resources worth $17,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,384,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 49.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,118,686 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $95,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,370,132 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 381.7% during the 3rd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,433,816 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136,174 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 167.5% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,494,817 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $34,575,000 after purchasing an additional 936,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 1,109.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 775,490 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $17,937,000 after purchasing an additional 711,347 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on BEN. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $31.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.56.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $31.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.56. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.06 and a 12 month high of $31.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $26.01 and its 200 day moving average is $25.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. Research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

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.