Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 31,856 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 73.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 75,016 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,856 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.5% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 102,708 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,376,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.5% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 12,287 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,343 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.5% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,150 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:BEN opened at $27.27 on Wednesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.62 and a 1-year high of $28.32. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $25.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.46. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $14.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.25, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.44.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.15. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 6.97%.The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 122.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on BEN shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore set a $27.00 price target on Franklin Resources in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Barclays upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $25.89.

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.