Altrius Capital Management Inc Acquires 2,776 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Altrius Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 133,132 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,776 shares during the period. Altrius Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $3,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 138.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,750,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $43,034,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015,225 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at about $14,684,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 6.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,563,774 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $161,338,000 after acquiring an additional 415,512 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 53.6% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,188,199 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $35,396,000 after acquiring an additional 414,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 383.1% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 502,840 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $12,360,000 after acquiring an additional 398,745 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 6.4 %

BEN stock traded down $1.61 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $23.38. The company had a trading volume of 10,158,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,681,344. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.37. The company has a market capitalization of $12.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.88 and a 52 week high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.30%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 65.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BEN shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. StockNews.com lowered Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.50.

About Franklin Resources

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.