Helen Saulnier 
Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN – Get Rating) is scheduled to be announcing its earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, July 28th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.85 per share for the quarter. Individual interested in registering for the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.
Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN – Get Rating) last posted 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 business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Franklin Resources to post $4 EPS for the current fiscal year and $3 EPS for the next fiscal year.
Franklin Resources Stock Performance
Franklin Resources stock opened at $25.42 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a PE ratio of 6.83, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.69. Franklin Resources has a twelve month low of $22.61 and a twelve month high of $38.27.
Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 30th were given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 29th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 31.18%.
Insider Activity at Franklin Resources
In related news, Director Mariann H. Byerwalter sold 3,135 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.37, for a total transaction of $73,264.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $269,292.51. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc bought 36,266 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.51 per share, for a total transaction of $163,559.66. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 93,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $420,178.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mariann H. Byerwalter sold 3,135 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.37, for a total transaction of $73,264.95. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $269,292.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 478,473 shares of company stock valued at $2,102,783. Corporate insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,072,606 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $951,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390,583 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 0.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 80,446 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,507,038 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $153,758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,729 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,833,431 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $134,950,000 after acquiring an additional 345,868 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,660,619 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $74,284,000 after acquiring an additional 337,495 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.50% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BEN shares. Citigroup cut shares of Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $44.50 to $28.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 12th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Tuesday, June 28th. They set a “sell” rating and a $23.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Monday, July 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.00.
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.
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