Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Sold by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lowered its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 456,580 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 83,885 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned 0.09% of Franklin Resources worth $9,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 263.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,744,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465,148 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $432,730,000 after purchasing an additional 599,045 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 76.7% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,290,200 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $25,998,000 after purchasing an additional 560,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $147,312,000 after buying an additional 422,688 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on BEN shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 price objective (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.50 to $20.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.18.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $22.22 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.01. The stock has a market cap of $11.64 billion, a PE ratio of 25.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.41. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.83 and a 1-year high of $28.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.76%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. This is an increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 148.84%.

Franklin Resources Company 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.