California Public Employees Retirement System Has $7.08 Million Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 32.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 349,090 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 167,096 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $7,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BEN. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 561.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,677 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,937 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $16.87 on Tuesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.36 and a 1-year high of $27.55. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $19.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.50. The company has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.59%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 196.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.21.

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.