Insider Selling: Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Insider Sells 7,900 Shares of Stock

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total value of $345,309.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

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

• On Wednesday, October 16th, Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of Franklin Resources stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total value of $369,923.23.
• 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 Trading Up 1.5 %

Franklin Resources stock traded up $0.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $20.98. 4,748,134 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,999,031. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $30.32. The company has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.39. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.53.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on BEN. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Barclays lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.73.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

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.