Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. Invests $349,000 in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 18,129 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $349,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BEN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,809 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $765,254,000 after buying an additional 1,095,373 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,721,446 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $237,828,000 after buying an additional 1,011,755 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,403,875 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $190,805,000 after buying an additional 1,542,478 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,438,863 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $130,645,000 after buying an additional 1,599,849 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,002,950 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $121,797,000 after buying an additional 460,270 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.8%

Franklin Resources stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,043,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,490,156. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $24.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $20.75 and a 200-day moving average of $20.27. The stock has a market cap of $11.97 billion, a PE ratio of 33.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.43.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 4.65%. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. The business's revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 5.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is 188.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on BEN. Barclays raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. TD Cowen raised Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, June 16th. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources 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.