18,331 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Purchased by Entropy Technologies LP

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 18,331 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $372,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 254.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 124.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,068 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,148 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on BEN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.7 %

BEN stock opened at $20.04 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.83. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.83 and a fifty-two week high of $28.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $10.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.42.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 196.93%.

Franklin Resources Company 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.