Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $18.93 and last traded at $18.96, with a volume of 1522406 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.50 to $22.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.73.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $21.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.23.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. Franklin Resources's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.75%. This is a boost from Franklin Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 148.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total value of $345,309.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. This trade represents a 17.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 254.4% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% 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.