Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 58.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 132,569 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,753 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources accounts for about 0.8% of Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB increased 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 valued at $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 27,259 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $127,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 516,268 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $10,403,000 after acquiring an additional 22,369 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 301.4% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,074 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 3,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Code Waechter LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth about $936,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $20.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $20.49 and a 200 day moving average of $22.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.94 and a twelve month high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.04%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BEN shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $336,142.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 65,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,341.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 over the last quarter. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.