Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC Sells 30,571 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 17.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 148,317 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 30,571 shares during the period. Franklin Resources comprises approximately 0.9% of Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $3,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Foundation Resource Management Inc. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Foundation Resource Management Inc. now owns 589,781 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $14,090,000 after purchasing an additional 4,541 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,385 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 3,070 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 35,234 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 9,481 shares in the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 13,656 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 2,463 shares during the period. Finally, Tema Etfs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $124,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Barclays raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Evercore set a $27.00 price target on Franklin Resources in a research report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $25.78.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of BEN stock opened at $24.91 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.17 and a 52-week high of $28.32. The stock has a market cap of $12.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.07, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $25.60 and its 200-day moving average is $24.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 1.86.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.15. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 6.97%.The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 122.22%.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.