Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.32

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 4th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a dividend of 0.32 per share by the closed-end fund on Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.64%. This is a boost from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31.

Franklin Resources has decreased its dividend by an average of 6.2% annually over the last three years. Franklin Resources has a dividend payout ratio of 51.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Franklin Resources to earn $2.59 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 47.9%.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.69. 8,166,335 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,021,618. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business’s fifty day moving average is $20.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.66. Franklin Resources has a one year low of $18.94 and a one year high of $30.32. The stock has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39.

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). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total transaction of $369,923.23. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 51,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,020.11. The trade was a 14.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. This trade represents a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.20.

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.