Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Announces $0.31 Quarterly Dividend

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, August 26th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.31 per share by the closed-end fund on Friday, October 11th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.98%.

Franklin Resources has decreased its dividend by an average of 6.2% per year over the last three years. Franklin Resources has a payout ratio of 46.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Franklin Resources to earn $2.68 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 46.3%.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BEN traded down $0.20 during trading on Monday, reaching $20.74. 5,554,799 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,869,908. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.43. Franklin Resources has a 52-week low of $19.60 and a 52-week high of $30.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business’s fifty day moving average is $22.47 and its 200-day moving average is $24.46.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on BEN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 18,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,055. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,544,055. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.80 per share, with a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 88,703,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,022,432,777.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.