92,761 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Acquired by Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc.

Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 92,761 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $2,763,000. Franklin Resources accounts for approximately 2.5% of Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 240.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 882 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 149.1% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,111 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 665 shares during the period. Finally, Tobam increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2,170.0% in the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 1,135 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,085 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.50.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Franklin Resources stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.99. The stock had a trading volume of 7,535,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,588,434. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.88 and a 1 year high of $30.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $26.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.35. The stock has a market cap of $13.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.07. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.15% and a net margin of 12.30%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.96%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

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.