Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Sells 77,577 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd trimmed its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 725,800 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 77,577 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $17,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,328,000. United Community Bank boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 172.1% in the 3rd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 34,069 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $788,000 after buying an additional 21,547 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 34,715.9% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 89,825 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,078,000 after buying an additional 89,567 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $522,000. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $840,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:BEN opened at $31.55 on Tuesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.06 and a 52 week high of $31.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.01 and a 200 day moving average of $25.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.56.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.16. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.56.

Franklin Resources Company 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.