Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Has $11.91 Million Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 11.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 423,632 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 52,822 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. owned 0.08% of Franklin Resources worth $11,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cooper Financial Group increased its position in Franklin Resources by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 14,682 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,652 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,129 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $391,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,622 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 2.4% during the third quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,974 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN stock traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,865,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,912,638. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $26.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.33. The company has a market cap of $12.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.44. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.88 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.82.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 11.09%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.47 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 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.30%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 70.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $25.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.00.

Franklin Resources Profile

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.