Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Given “Underperform” Rating at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated their underperform rating on shares of Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a $19.00 price target on the closed-end fund’s stock, down from their previous price target of $20.00.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on BEN. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $21.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.95. Franklin Resources has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 5.48%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 144.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $345,309.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,596,245.49. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,769,890,529.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $345,309.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 1.0% during the third quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,089,487 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $21,953,000 after acquiring an additional 10,360 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 5.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 257,503 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $5,189,000 after acquiring an additional 12,219 shares in the last quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 23.4% during the third quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 217,553 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $4,384,000 after acquiring an additional 41,247 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 8.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 58,203 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 4,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 65.2% during the third quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 31,898 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 12,592 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.