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

Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 10.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 177,209 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 17,471 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources accounts for 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 37,856 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $729,000 after acquiring an additional 2,588 shares in the last quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.3% in the first quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC now owns 136,811 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $2,634,000 after buying an additional 3,096 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 8.2% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 315,791 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $6,079,000 after buying an additional 23,970 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 9.5% during the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 25,648 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 2,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the first quarter worth approximately $203,000. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on BEN. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.21.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $25.34. 1,138,367 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,507,237. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The company has a market cap of $13.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.21, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.45. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $22.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.51. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $25.35.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter 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 fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.