Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Insider Acquires $460,740.91 in Stock

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN – Get Rating) insider Franklin Resources Inc acquired 98,239 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.69 per share, for a total transaction of $460,740.91. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 1,620,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,598,817.73. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

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

• On Wednesday, August 3rd, Franklin Resources Inc acquired 1,968,504 shares of Franklin Resources stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $12.70 per share, for a total transaction of $25,000,000.80.
• On Friday, July 29th, Franklin Resources Inc purchased 88,884 shares of Franklin Resources stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.59 per share, for a total transaction of $407,977.56.
• On Wednesday, July 27th, Franklin Resources Inc purchased 127,186 shares of Franklin Resources stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $559,618.40.
• On Monday, July 25th, Franklin Resources Inc purchased 79,523 shares of Franklin Resources stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $349,901.20.
• On Friday, July 22nd, Franklin Resources Inc purchased 113,726 shares of Franklin Resources stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.46 per share, for a total transaction of $507,217.96.
• On Wednesday, July 20th, Franklin Resources Inc purchased 108,467 shares of Franklin Resources stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.43 per share, for a total transaction of $480,508.81.
• On Monday, July 18th, Franklin Resources Inc purchased 121,568 shares of Franklin Resources stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $534,899.20.
• On Friday, July 15th, Franklin Resources Inc acquired 56,500 shares of Franklin Resources stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.35 per share, for a total transaction of $245,775.00.
• On Wednesday, July 13th, Franklin Resources Inc acquired 54,595 shares of Franklin Resources stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.37 per share, for a total transaction of $238,580.15.
• On Wednesday, July 13th, Franklin Resources Inc acquired 54,595 shares of Franklin Resources stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.37 per share, for a total transaction of $238,580.15.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.1 %

BEN stock opened at $27.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.61 and a 1 year high of $38.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.01. The firm has a market cap of $13.78 billion, a PE ratio of 8.23, a PEG ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 1.20.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.09. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 20.25% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 30th were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 29th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Franklin Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 28th. Citigroup lowered shares of Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $44.50 to $28.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday, June 28th. They set a “sell” rating and a $23.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.38.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Prospera Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 43.50% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

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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.