J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 65,667 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $1,264,000.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the first quarter worth $335,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at $285,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 12.1% during the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,277 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 2,947 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 39.3% during the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 33,976 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 9,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 39.4% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
BEN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $14.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.92.
Check Out Our Latest Report on BEN
Franklin Resources Stock Performance
Shares of BEN traded up $0.10 on Friday, reaching $24.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,633,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,686,025. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.49, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $25.36. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $23.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.87.
Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Franklin Resources Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 188.24%.
About Franklin Resources
(
Free Report)
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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