Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Acquires 12,052 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. by 40.9%, owning 41,489 shares valued at $812,000.
• Other institutional investors, including Principal Financial Group and Mirae Asset Global Investments, also raised their stakes in Franklin Resources during the first quarter, reflecting a total hedge fund ownership of 47.56%.
• Despite a solid EPS report for the last quarter, which beat estimates, Franklin Resources has faced a mixed outlook from analysts with three Buy ratings and several Hold and Sell ratings, indicating cautious sentiment.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 40.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,489 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 12,052 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources by 147.1% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 737 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 49.9% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 39.4% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 78.3% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,139 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of BEN traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $24.65. 3,034,050 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,416,089. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap of $12.80 billion, a PE ratio of 48.32, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.51. The firm's 50 day moving average is $24.94 and its 200-day moving average is $22.04. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.25 and a 52 week high of $26.08.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 3.73%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is presently 250.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on BEN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Franklin Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $23.58.

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.