Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lowered its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 20.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,686 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 1,226 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $95,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,465,148 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted 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 worth $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in 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 worth $432,730,000 after buying an additional 599,045 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $25,998,000 after acquiring an additional 560,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 worth $147,312,000 after acquiring an additional 422,688 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $22.22 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $20.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.41. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.83 and a 12 month high of $28.61.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. This is a positive change from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 148.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on BEN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price target (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.50 to $20.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.18.

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.