S&CO Inc. Sells 23,250 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

S&CO Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 50.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 23,245 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 23,250 shares during the period. S&CO Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 277.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,150 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $32.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $16.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.95, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $32.42 and a 200 day moving average of $28.25. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.10 and a 12 month high of $34.92.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.16. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 10.58%. 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 company earned $0.47 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 29th were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Franklin Resources Profile

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.