Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.2 %

BEN traded down $0.04 during trading on Thursday, hitting $21.54. 860,735 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,011,584. Franklin Resources has a 12-month low of $18.94 and a 12-month high of $30.32. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.00, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.38.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.76%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 144.19%.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 18,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,544,055. This trade represents a 9.55 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,208,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,769,890,529.28. This represents a 0.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at $305,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 97,636 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,731,000 after buying an additional 27,193 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 22,082 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $621,000 after buying an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 38.1% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 281,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $7,910,000 after acquiring an additional 77,652 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

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.