Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Has $414,000 Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 40.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,528 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 14,738 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $414,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.3% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 71,198 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,371,000 after acquiring an additional 4,197 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 29.0% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 679,667 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $13,084,000 after acquiring an additional 152,941 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 1,882.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 149,861 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $2,885,000 after acquiring an additional 142,302 shares in the last quarter. Fire Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,497,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 240.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 100,975 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $2,049,000 after acquiring an additional 71,308 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.7%

BEN opened at $21.90 on Monday. The company's 50 day moving average is $19.82 and its 200-day moving average is $20.28. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.25 and a 1-year high of $24.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.69, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.43.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.84%. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is 188.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BEN shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.

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