Insider Buying: Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) CEO Acquires $395,955.00 in Stock

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of the firm’s 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,544,055. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $19.61 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $22.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.71. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.54 and a 52-week high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 70.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 46.7% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 20,591 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 6,557 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.0% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,841 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,876 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 2,062 shares during the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth $464,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 35,708 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $798,000 after buying an additional 3,263 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays began coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.45.

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.