Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV Decreases Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV decreased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 32.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,659 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 1,293 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $54,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Gold Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 28,481 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,568 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,929 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 139.5% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 29,829 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 17,376 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 18,124 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $565,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $19.86 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.10 and a 200 day moving average of $20.55. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.83 and a 12 month high of $28.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 196.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.86.

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.