WESPAC Advisors LLC Makes New $486,000 Investment in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

WESPAC Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 21,030 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $486,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 8,677,417 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $206,956,000 after purchasing an additional 97,708 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.5% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,236,553 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $77,192,000 after buying an additional 80,146 shares during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth about $76,051,000. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 6.4% during the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,904,475 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $69,272,000 after acquiring an additional 175,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kopernik Global Investors LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 2,843,849 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $67,826,000 after acquiring an additional 407,867 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BEN shares. Barclays upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Bank of America raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $24.09.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of BEN opened at $25.27 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $26.08. The firm has a market cap of $13.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.44.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The closed-end fund reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 9.12%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 30th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 30th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. This is an increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 145.05%.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.