Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $592,000 Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 37.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,752 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 18,202 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $592,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 147.1% during 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 raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 350.4% during 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 position in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of 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 Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of BEN stock opened at $24.75 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $13.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.40, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.45. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.25 and a 52-week high of $24.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.42.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. The firm 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 company's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is currently 188.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BEN shares. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. TD Cowen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $14.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five equities 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.21.

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.

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