Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Increases Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 47.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 48,954 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 15,758 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 230.1% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 291,821 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $5,921,000 after purchasing an additional 203,414 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 93,789 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,903,000 after buying an additional 24,204 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 139.5% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 29,829 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 17,376 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,097,979 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $62,858,000 after buying an additional 99,405 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $372,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on BEN. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Cowen raised Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.25.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $21.90 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.25 and a 1-year high of $24.37. The company has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.69, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50-day moving average of $19.82 and a 200-day moving average of $20.28.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. Franklin Resources's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.84%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 188.24%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BEN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.