Apollon Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 24,330 Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 24,330 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $494,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.8% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 69,585 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 30.2% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.2% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,485 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,677 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,918 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of 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 assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $20.26 on Friday. 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 50 day simple moving average of $20.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.82. The company has a market capitalization of $10.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 196.93%.

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.