Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

BEN has been the subject of a number of other reports. Evercore ISI decreased 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. Barclays decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of BEN traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $21.54. The stock had a trading volume of 860,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,011,584. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $20.42 and its 200 day moving average is $21.82. The firm has a market cap of $11.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.71. Franklin Resources has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. This trade represents a 0.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,341.80. The trade was a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders purchased 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 39.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 46,836 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $944,000 after acquiring an additional 13,175 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 200.5% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 295,738 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $5,966,000 after purchasing an additional 197,308 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 165,442 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $3,334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,692 shares during the last quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $838,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at $1,461,000. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.