Proficio Capital Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 11,389 Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,389 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BEN. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 254.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,277 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 561.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 30.2% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BEN shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $19.87 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.57, a P/E/G 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 1 year low of $18.83 and a 1 year high of $28.15.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.44%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 196.92%.

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.