Jump Financial LLC Sells 27,517 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Jump Financial LLC trimmed its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 16.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,048 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 27,517 shares during the quarter. Jump Financial LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,809 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $765,254,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095,373 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,721,446 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $237,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011,755 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 62.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $75,928,000 after purchasing an additional 1,449,210 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,097,979 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $62,858,000 after buying an additional 99,405 shares during the period. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,923,399 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $59,316,000 after buying an additional 709,736 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on BEN shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.96.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.4 %

Franklin Resources stock opened at $17.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The company’s 50-day moving average is $19.38 and its 200-day moving average is $20.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $25.69.

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

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend 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.