12,149 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Acquired by Prentice Wealth Management LLC

Prentice Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 12,149 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 14,915 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 1,702 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 68,767 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,324,000 after acquiring an additional 6,275 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 18.3% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 353,913 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $6,813,000 after acquiring an additional 54,663 shares during the last quarter. Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at $933,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 13.9% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 12,687 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BEN. 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 research report on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.25.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $22.16 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $24.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.28. The company has a market cap of $11.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.09, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.43.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

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 $0.32 dividend. 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 5.78%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 188.24%.

Franklin Resources 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.