Perennial Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 14,529 Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Perennial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 14,529 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 147.1% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 350.4% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 561.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on BEN. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Cowen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Five equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.25.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.9%

Franklin Resources stock traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,811,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,377,997. The stock has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.25 and a 12 month high of $24.37. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. As a group, analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.92%. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is 188.24%.

About Franklin Resources

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.