Vest Financial LLC Sells 269,246 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Vest Financial LLC decreased its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 15.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,513,370 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 269,246 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $48,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth $4,418,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $6,254,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,742,000. Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,429,000. Finally, Kinloch Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,737,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $31.65 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $33.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.93. The stock has a market cap of $16.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.54. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $36.28.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.91 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BEN. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Barclays reiterated a “mixed” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.89.

Franklin Resources Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, operating under the Franklin Templeton name, is a global investment management organization headquartered in San Mateo, California. The company provides investment solutions to individuals, financial professionals, institutions, and other clients worldwide.

Its products and services include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional portfolios, and alternative investment strategies. Through its investment teams and specialist affiliates, Franklin Templeton offers capabilities across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies, private markets, real assets, and other areas of asset management.

Franklin Resources was founded in 1947 by Rupert H.