Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01), Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 3.9 %

BEN opened at $20.95 on Wednesday. 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 market capitalization of $10.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.38. Franklin Resources has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.21 and a 200-day moving average of $21.96.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.07%.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,341.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.20.

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.