Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Hits New 12-Month Low at $18.94

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $18.94 and last traded at $19.01, with a volume of 594585 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on BEN shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.00.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $21.72 and a 200 day moving average of $23.79.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. As a group, analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.30%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.86%.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,769,890,529.28. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,769,890,529.28. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 18,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 331,600 shares of company stock worth $7,189,637. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Power Corp of Canada grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% in the first quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $887,071,000 after purchasing an additional 31,385,293 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 26,652,644 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $793,983,000 after buying an additional 4,043,808 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,008,853,000 after buying an additional 3,592,943 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 250.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $54,664,000 after acquiring an additional 1,751,587 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,547,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.