Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) CFO Matthew Nicholls sold 160,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.20, for a total transaction of $5,792,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 774,348 shares in the company, valued at $28,031,397.60. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.
Franklin Resources Trading Down 1.3%
NYSE:BEN opened at $35.81 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.10 and a 52 week high of $36.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm's fifty day moving average is $32.77 and its 200-day moving average is $30.59. The firm has a market cap of $18.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.56.
Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The closed-end fund reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 11.42% and a return on equity of 12.54%. Franklin Resources's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.
Franklin Resources Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is currently 66.67%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources
Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Community Trust NA acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth $25,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 390.0% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 980 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research cut Franklin Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Franklin Resources from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group started coverage on Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $36.78.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Franklin Resources
Franklin Resources Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
Franklin Resources, Inc. is a global investment management company that operates under the Franklin Templeton name. It offers investment products and services to individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and other clients, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and separately managed accounts. The company invests across a range of asset classes and strategies, including equities, fixed income, multi-asset portfolios and alternative investments. Its services also include retirement solutions and wealth management.
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