Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 88,863 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC decreased its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,307,273 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 88,863 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.25% of Franklin Resources worth $31,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 102,708 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,376,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.5% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 12,287 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.5% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,150 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.5% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 122,857 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of BEN stock opened at $22.76 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.25 and a 12 month high of $28.32. The stock has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.31.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.15. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 122.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Evercore raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $25.89.

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.