Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group Sells 4,137 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group lowered its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,824 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 4,137 shares during the period. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $285,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,277 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 2,947 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 39.3% during the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 33,976 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 9,593 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 39.4% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the period. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,245 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $409,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on BEN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. TD Cowen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.92.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.0%

BEN traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $24.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 292,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,514,340. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.43, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $25.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $22.83 and its 200-day moving average is $20.68.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 9.13%. Franklin Resources’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.17%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 188.24%.

About Franklin Resources

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.