Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Has $242,000 Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. cut its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 35.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 6,495 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 561.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,677 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,937 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on BEN. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $19.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.65, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.74 and a fifty-two week high of $28.08. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.57.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 196.92%.

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.