Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC Purchases 2,720 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 16.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,848 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 2,720 shares during the period. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 69,585 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,485 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,677 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,918 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $20.65 on Thursday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.83 and a 52-week high of $28.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.93. The firm has a market cap of $10.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.78, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.42.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted 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 return on equity of 9.41% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 196.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.86.

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.