Korea Investment CORP Cuts Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Korea Investment CORP trimmed its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 53.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 63,747 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 72,100 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,809 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $765,254,000 after buying an additional 1,095,373 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $432,730,000 after acquiring an additional 599,045 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $147,312,000 after purchasing an additional 422,688 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Franklin Resources by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $75,928,000 after purchasing an additional 1,449,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,097,979 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $62,858,000 after purchasing an additional 99,405 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEN has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $19.29 on Wednesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.74 and a 12-month high of $28.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.13 and a 200 day moving average of $20.57.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.63%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 196.92%.

About Franklin Resources

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.