Artemis Investment Management LLP Sells 173,257 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Artemis Investment Management LLP cut its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 3.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,137,952 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 173,257 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources makes up approximately 1.3% of Artemis Investment Management LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $165,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. United Community Bank boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 37,849 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 10,783 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.3% in the second quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 143,825 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $4,785,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 4.0% during the first quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 10,194 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 12.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,671 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.6%

BEN traded down $0.19 during trading on Thursday, reaching $32.29. The company had a trading volume of 2,303,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,778,247. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $16.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.54. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.10 and a 12-month high of $36.28.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.9 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, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 89.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on BEN. Zacks Research cut shares of Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, August 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.89.

Franklin Resources Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, operating under the Franklin Templeton brand, is a global investment management organization. The company provides investment solutions for individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and retirement-plan participants through a range of actively managed and specialized strategies.

Its products and services include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional mandates and alternative investment strategies. Franklin Templeton offers capabilities spanning equities, fixed income, multi-asset investing, private markets and other specialized areas, with investment teams and brands serving different market segments and regions.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.