Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Trading Down 7.1% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) fell 7.1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $19.35 and last traded at $19.35. 4,673,631 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 17% from the average session volume of 4,011,318 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.43.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 2.5 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.21 and a 200-day moving average of $22.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued 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 6.10%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.07%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 12,700 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.66 per share, with a total value of $249,682.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at $51,857,182. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,055. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 12,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,857,182. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Franklin Resources by 11.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,008,853,000 after buying an additional 3,592,943 shares during the period. Power Corp of Canada grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% in the first quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $887,071,000 after purchasing an additional 31,385,293 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 10.5% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $158,582,000 after purchasing an additional 676,760 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 1.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $71,171,000 after purchasing an additional 54,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 250.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $54,664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751,587 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Company 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.