Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Bought by AE Wealth Management LLC

AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 650,888 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 15,229 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Franklin Resources worth $12,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 37.0% during the 1st quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 145,512 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $2,801,000 after purchasing an additional 39,276 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 5.7% during the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 23,825 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 1,292 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the first quarter valued at $1,264,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at $335,000. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at $285,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN traded down $0.02 on Thursday, hitting $24.74. 3,389,748 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,656,413. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $25.36. The stock has a market cap of $13.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $23.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. Franklin Resources's revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 188.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on BEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. TD Cowen raised Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $14.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.92.

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.