Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Stock: Insider Matthew Nicholls Sells 160,000 Shares

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) CFO Matthew Nicholls sold 160,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.20, for a total value of $5,792,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 774,348 shares in the company, valued at $28,031,397.60. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 1.7%

BEN stock traded down $0.62 during trading on Thursday, reaching $35.68. 1,670,608 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,695,260. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.13 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $32.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.54. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.10 and a 52-week high of $36.79.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The closed-end fund reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.17. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 11.42% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth $4,418,000. HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth about $2,500,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth about $37,742,000. Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth approximately $2,429,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 138.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 76,242 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,629,000 after acquiring an additional 44,269 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.78.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc. is a global investment management company that operates under the Franklin Templeton name. It offers investment products and services to individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and other clients, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and separately managed accounts. The company invests across a range of asset classes and strategies, including equities, fixed income, multi-asset portfolios and alternative investments. Its services also include retirement solutions and wealth management.