Franklin Universal Trust to Issue Monthly Dividend of $0.04 (NYSE:FT)

Franklin Universal Trust (NYSE:FT) declared a monthly dividend on Monday, April 8th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 17th will be given a dividend of 0.0425 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.51 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 16th.

Franklin Universal Trust has raised its dividend by an average of 9.9% annually over the last three years.

Franklin Universal Trust Price Performance

FT stock opened at $6.63 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.48. Franklin Universal Trust has a fifty-two week low of $5.97 and a fifty-two week high of $7.23.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Universal Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Universal Trust by 15.8% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 16,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Universal Trust by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 35,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 2,524 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Universal Trust by 19.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 2,743 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Universal Trust by 0.8% in the second quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 496,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,696,000 after acquiring an additional 3,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Universal Trust by 4.6% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 107,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 4,736 shares in the last quarter.

About Franklin Universal Trust

Franklin Universal Trust is a closed-ended balanced mutual fund launched by Franklin Resources, Inc The fund is managed by Franklin Advisers, Inc It invests in the public equity and fixed income markets of the United States. The fund invests in companies operating in utility sector. It employs fundamental analysis to invest in a diversified portfolio of corporate bonds and dividend paying utility stocks.