Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC Purchases 17,471 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 177,209 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 17,471 shares during the period. Franklin Resources makes up about 0.9% of Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $3,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 737 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 981 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 44.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the first quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:BEN opened at $24.50 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.48. The company has a market cap of $12.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.45. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.25 and a 52 week high of $24.98.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors 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 5.22%. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is 188.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BEN. Bank of America lowered their target price on 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 Franklin Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, June 27th. TD Cowen raised Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $14.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.21.

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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