Zacks Research Brokers Decrease Earnings Estimates for BEN

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) – Research analysts at Zacks Research lowered their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for Franklin Resources in a note issued to investors on Thursday, December 19th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the closed-end fund will post earnings per share of $2.32 for the year, down from their prior estimate of $2.33. The consensus estimate for Franklin Resources’ current full-year earnings is $2.39 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Franklin Resources’ Q4 2025 earnings at $0.64 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.60 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.66 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.54 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.69 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.49 EPS.

BEN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.50 to $22.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.66.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $20.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a PE ratio of 24.28, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin Resources has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $30.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $21.40 and a 200-day moving average of $21.48.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Interval Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.4% during the second quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 108,894 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.8% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 69,585 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.7% in the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 88,195 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,971,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the period. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 3.2% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,485 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $345,309.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. This represents a 17.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.13%. This is a positive change from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.84%.

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.