Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Purchased by Elevated Capital Advisors LLC

Elevated Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,306 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 3,862 shares during the quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 254.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $19.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.73.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE BEN traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $18.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,380,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,161,228. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.83 and a 52-week high of $28.61. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.41.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.75%. This is a positive change from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 148.84%.

Insider Activity

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total transaction of $369,923.23. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 51,019 shares in the company, valued at $2,229,020.11. This trade represents a 14.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

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.