Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

Posted by George Bondi on Jul 28th, 2026

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN – Free Report) by 5.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,841,664 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 114,263 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $43,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of BEN. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 277.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,150 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on BEN shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.00.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN opened at $33.18 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $32.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.63. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.10 and a 12-month high of $34.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $17.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.33, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.54.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN – Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 8.12%.Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 29th were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.76%.

About Franklin Resources

(Free Report)

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.