Modern Wealth Management LLC Invests $3.51 Million in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Modern Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 172,897 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $3,505,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,809 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $765,254,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095,373 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,517,598 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $30,792,000 after purchasing an additional 658,977 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. increased its position in Franklin Resources by 46.0% during the fourth quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 43,017 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $873,000 after buying an additional 13,562 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,074,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 89,028 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,806,000 after buying an additional 20,704 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of BEN opened at $20.01 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $20.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.83 and a 12-month high of $28.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 196.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.86.

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.