Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $18.93 and last traded at $18.96, with a volume of 1522406 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.12.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.50 to $20.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group decreased 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. Barclays lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.55.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $21.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.21. The firm has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.41.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.52%. This is an increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 148.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total value of $345,309.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,596,245.49. This trade represents a 17.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $880,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth about $1,857,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 9.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,192 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $7,681,000 after buying an additional 32,490 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after buying an additional 925,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 78.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 62,076 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after acquiring an additional 27,259 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

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.