Greenwich Wealth Management LLC Acquires 776 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Greenwich Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 602,046 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 776 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources makes up 0.9% of Greenwich Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC owned about 0.11% of Franklin Resources worth $12,216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,192 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $7,681,000 after acquiring an additional 32,490 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in Franklin Resources by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 100,834 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,032,000 after acquiring an additional 6,524 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its position in Franklin Resources by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 21,675 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 2,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 806,901 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $16,259,000 after acquiring an additional 11,371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $19.56 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.56. The company has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a PE ratio of 30.09, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick 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.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. Analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 196.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.86.

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.