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 research note released on Thursday morning.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on BEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of BEN stock opened at $21.67 on Thursday. Franklin Resources has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $30.32. The stock has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.20, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $20.47 and its 200-day moving average is $21.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.72%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 144.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. This represents a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,891,341.80. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

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.