Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BEN. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources 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 company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $20.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.79.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.72%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on 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 owns 65,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,341.80. The trade was a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,208,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. The trade was a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BEN. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.