Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.01 EPS

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

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $20.62. 1,131,295 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,033,543. Franklin Resources has a twelve month low of $18.94 and a twelve month high of $30.32. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The company has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.38.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.01%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.66.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $336,142.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,341.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were 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 owns 65,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,341.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders bought 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

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.