Modern Wealth Management LLC Has $4.73 Million Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Key Points

• Modern Wealth Management LLC has increased its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. by 58.1%, now owning 245,708 shares valued at approximately $4.73 million.
• Analysts have varied opinions on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $23.58.
• Franklin Resources recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, equating to an annualized dividend yield of 5.2%.

Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 58.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 245,708 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 90,277 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $4,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $436,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 147.1% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in Franklin Resources by 109.5% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 24,086 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 12,591 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 47,544 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $964,000 after buying an additional 708 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 117,286 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $2,380,000 after buying an additional 26,079 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $23.58.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $24.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.80 billion, a PE ratio of 48.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.25 and a 12 month high of $26.08. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.04.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 EPS 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 in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 250.98%.

Franklin Resources Company 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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