Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN)

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders purchased 9,664 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 509% compared to the typical volume of 1,586 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on BEN shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN stock traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $19.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,019,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,190,478. The company has a market capitalization of $10.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.36, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. Franklin Resources has a 12-month low of $18.83 and a 12-month high of $28.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.08 and a 200-day moving average of $20.57.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.49%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 196.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $53,676,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 173.7% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,531,700 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $71,658,000 after acquiring an additional 2,241,500 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 132.7% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,935,292 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $59,557,000 after acquiring an additional 1,673,971 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,438,863 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $130,645,000 after buying an additional 1,599,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,403,875 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $190,805,000 after buying an additional 1,542,478 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.