Sound Income Strategies LLC Buys 31,692 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN – Get Rating) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 289,658 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,692 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $7,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 6.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 25,280 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 5.0% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 15,094 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at $62,000. Prana Capital Management LP lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 0.6% during the second quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 868,128 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $20,236,000 after purchasing an additional 4,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 3.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 239,800 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $5,160,000 after purchasing an additional 8,723 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.47% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 2.6 %

BEN stock traded down $0.69 during trading on Friday, hitting $26.27. The company had a trading volume of 19,038,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,253,020. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.40 and a beta of 1.27. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.24 and a 52-week high of $34.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.70. The company has a quick ratio of 4.97, a current ratio of 4.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.85 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 12.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Wednesday, December 14th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, EVP Alok Sethi sold 29,503 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.09, for a total transaction of $917,248.27. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 92,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,864,383.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

About Franklin Resources

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Franklin Resources, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of investment management and related services. The firm offers services and products under various distinct brand names, including, but not limited to, Franklin, Templeton, Legg Mason, Benefit Street Partners, Brandywine Global Investment Management, Clarion Partners, ClearBridge Investments, Fiduciary Trust International, Franklin Bissett, Franklin Mutual Series, K2, LibertyShares, Martin Currie, Royce Investment Partners and Western Asset Management Company.