Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Acquires 42,172 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 368.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,633 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,172 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,241,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BEN. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at about $264,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 27.8% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 30,551 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $707,000 after acquiring an additional 6,652 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources by 257.8% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,492 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,315 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 19,982 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 2,246 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:BEN opened at $27.03 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $14.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.46. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $28.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.22.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.15. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 122.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Evercore increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $25.89.

Franklin Resources Profile

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.