Franklin Resources, Inc. (BEN) To Go Ex-Dividend on December 30th

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 4th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.32 per share by the closed-end fund on Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. This is a boost from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31.

Franklin Resources has decreased its dividend by an average of 6.2% annually over the last three years. Franklin Resources has a payout ratio of 52.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Franklin Resources to earn $2.59 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 49.4%.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 1.4 %

Franklin Resources stock opened at $20.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.45. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $30.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BEN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.50 to $22.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.66.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 65,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,341.80. The trade was a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 24.13% 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.