Altrius Capital Management Inc Buys 10,100 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Altrius Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 4.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 227,666 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,100 shares during the quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $4,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 43,687 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $886,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 8,789 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $177,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 83,549 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,695,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 47,544 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $964,000 after buying an additional 708 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on BEN shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.25.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.8%

Franklin Resources stock opened at $22.77 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $20.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $11.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.43. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $24.37.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 4.65%. Franklin Resources’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio 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.