Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Bought by Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC

Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 32.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,400 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,750 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $880,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth $1,857,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 9.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,192 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $7,681,000 after acquiring an additional 32,490 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $60,421,000 after acquiring an additional 925,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 78.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 62,076 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 27,259 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on BEN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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 report on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.18.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $20.08 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $10.52 billion, a PE ratio of 23.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.83 and a 52-week high of $28.61. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.08.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. Franklin Resources’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors 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 yield of 6.37%. This is a boost from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.84%.

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.