Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Now Covered by Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) in a research note released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $20.00 price target on the closed-end fund’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. 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 research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an underperform rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $23.00.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $19.90 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.70. Franklin Resources has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The company has a market capitalization of $10.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.86%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 12,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,857,182. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 18,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,055. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 12,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.66 per share, with a total value of $249,682.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,857,182. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 431,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,097,637 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter worth $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the first quarter worth $44,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.