Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Insider Sells $369,923.23 in Stock

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total value of $369,923.23. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 51,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,020.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Franklin Resources Inc also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, October 18th, Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $345,309.00.
• On Monday, October 14th, Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of Franklin Resources stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $20.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.45. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $30.32. The company has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 5.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 70.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on BEN. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.73.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. 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.