Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 10.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 177,209 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after buying an additional 17,471 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources makes up approximately 0.9% of Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $3,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 350.4% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% in the fourth 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 acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $14.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.21.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN traded up $0.38 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $24.88. The company had a trading volume of 3,700,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,525,424. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.07 billion, a PE ratio of 36.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $22.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.48. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $24.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The company 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is 188.24%.

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.