Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Sells 31,142 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP reduced its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 64.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,882 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 31,142 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 230.1% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 291,821 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $5,921,000 after purchasing an additional 203,414 shares in the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 159,738 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $3,241,000 after buying an additional 27,169 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 93,789 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,903,000 after acquiring an additional 24,204 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 139.5% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 29,829 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 17,376 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 543,875 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $11,035,000 after acquiring an additional 27,607 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $20.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $19.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.20. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $24.86.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BEN shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.46.

Franklin Resources Company 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.