PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 169,606 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 44,970 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $4,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,328,000. United Community Bank raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 172.1% during the 3rd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 34,069 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $788,000 after buying an additional 21,547 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 34,715.9% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 89,825 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,078,000 after buying an additional 89,567 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at about $522,000. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at about $840,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $31.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.56. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $21.06 and a one year high of $32.44.

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

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 100.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on BEN shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays set a $31.00 price target on Franklin Resources and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley raised Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Franklin Resources from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.56.

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.