Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 15,758 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 47.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,954 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 15,758 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,809 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $765,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,373 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,721,446 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $237,828,000 after buying an additional 1,011,755 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,403,875 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $190,805,000 after acquiring an additional 1,542,478 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,438,863 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $130,645,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599,849 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,002,950 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $121,797,000 after acquiring an additional 460,270 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Cowen raised Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.25.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE BEN traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $22.59. The stock had a trading volume of 4,274,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,495,580. The stock has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a PE ratio of 34.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.43. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $24.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $20.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.30.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.67%. Franklin Resources's 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.