Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.32

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 4th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.32 per share by the closed-end fund on Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.64%. This is a positive change from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31.

Franklin Resources has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 6.2% per year over the last three years. Franklin Resources has a dividend payout ratio of 51.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Franklin Resources to earn $2.59 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 47.9%.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE BEN traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.69. The company had a trading volume of 8,166,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,021,618. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.66. Franklin Resources has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. Franklin Resources’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,341.80. The trade was a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. This represents a 0.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375. Company insiders own 24.13% 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.