12,149 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Bought by Prentice Wealth Management LLC

Prentice Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 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. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 12.9% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 14,915 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 1,702 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 68,767 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 6,275 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 353,913 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $6,813,000 after purchasing an additional 54,663 shares during the last quarter. Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at $933,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 12,687 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 1,551 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN stock traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $22.60. 3,041,211 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,477,413. The company has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $24.37. The stock's fifty day moving average is $20.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.28.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share (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 9.13% and a net margin of 4.65%. Franklin Resources's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 188.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. TD Cowen raised 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Cowen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.