Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Major Shareholder Acquires $1,908,000.00 in Stock

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN stock opened at $19.90 on Monday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $18.94 and a one year high of $30.32. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $21.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. The company has a market capitalization of $10.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.23%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the first quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BEN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

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.