New York Life Investment Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

New York Life Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,894 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 2,709 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 254.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 561.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 30.2% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $19.84 on Tuesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.83 and a 1 year high of $28.61. The company has a market cap of $10.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.22 and a 200-day moving average of $20.66.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 196.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BEN. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.86.

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.