Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Shares Purchased by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 98.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 67,379 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,403 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 99.1% during the 1st quarter. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. now owns 5,237,650 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $100,825,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607,460 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Franklin Resources by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,223,369 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $139,040,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220,419 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter worth about $13,878,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 24.5% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,889,160 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $36,366,000 after purchasing an additional 371,562 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 66.6% during the 1st quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 822,244 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $15,828,000 after purchasing an additional 328,800 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $22.79 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $23.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.19. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $26.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.83 billion, a PE ratio of 44.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.50.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 250.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on BEN. Zacks Research downgraded Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Barclays cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $24.27.

Franklin Resources Profile

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.