Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN – Get Rating) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, June 8th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 30th will be given a dividend of 0.29 per share by the closed-end fund on Friday, July 15th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%.
Franklin Resources has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 34.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 41 consecutive years. Franklin Resources has a dividend payout ratio of 34.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Franklin Resources to earn $3.47 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 33.4%.
NYSE:BEN traded down $1.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $25.88. The stock had a trading volume of 2,348,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,229,008. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a current ratio of 2.13. Franklin Resources has a 52 week low of $23.63 and a 52 week high of $38.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.94 billion, a PE ratio of 7.24, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.13.
Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 3rd. The closed-end fund reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 18.34%. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 3.74 EPS for the current year.
In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc purchased 998,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.27 per share, for a total transaction of $12,249,999.90. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 14,079,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $172,757,759.49. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter worth about $282,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 20.6% in the first quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 45,098 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 7,699 shares during the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 32,287 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $901,000 after acquiring an additional 2,439 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,693,626 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $242,726,000 after acquiring an additional 80,446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 199.9% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 322,877 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $9,015,000 after acquiring an additional 215,215 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.50% of the company’s stock.
A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BEN shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 19th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $44.50 to $28.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.00.
About Franklin Resources (Get Rating)
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.