Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Insider Franklin Resources Inc Sells 8,467 Shares

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total value of $369,923.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 51,019 shares in the company, valued at $2,229,020.11. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Franklin Resources Inc also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, October 18th, Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total value of $345,309.00.
• On Monday, October 14th, Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of Franklin Resources stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN stock traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $20.98. 4,748,134 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,999,031. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.53. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market cap of $11.04 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.91%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.73.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BEN. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.