Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 15,273 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 49.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,354 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 15,273 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $33.31 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market cap of $16.93 billion, a PE ratio of 22.66, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.55. The company’s fifty day moving average is $33.11 and its 200 day moving average is $29.28. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.10 and a 52 week high of $36.28.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 8.72%.The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 29th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.44.

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.