Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Shares Bought by ORG Wealth Partners LLC

Key Points

• ORG Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. by 195.2% in the second quarter, acquiring an additional 15,065 shares, now holding a total worth of $554,000.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Franklin Resources, with a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $23.58, while some analysts upgraded the stock's rating.
• The company recently announced a dividend of $0.32 per share, representing a 5.5% annualized yield, though it has a payout ratio of 250.98%.

ORG Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 195.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,783 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 15,065 shares during the quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $554,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 0.9% in the second quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 178,885 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $4,266,000 after buying an additional 1,676 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 51.9% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,938 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 11,207 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157 shares in the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Finally, CX Institutional increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 245.1% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,379 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $23.58.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:BEN opened at $23.27 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $26.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $24.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.32. The firm has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.62, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.51.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 3.73%.The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is presently 250.98%.

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.

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