Prentice Wealth Management LLC Acquires Shares of 12,149 Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Prentice Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 12,149 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 147.1% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 350.4% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 561.1% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $22.16. 2,203,259 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,487,527. The firm has a market cap of $11.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.09, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.43. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $24.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.78%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 188.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Cowen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.25.

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.