Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN)

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders acquired 8,694 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 235% compared to the typical volume of 2,599 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.20.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the company's 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 in the company, valued at $2,891,341.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 11.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,008,853,000 after acquiring an additional 3,592,943 shares during the period. Power Corp of Canada grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% during the 1st quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $887,071,000 after purchasing an additional 31,385,293 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $158,582,000 after purchasing an additional 676,760 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $71,171,000 after buying an additional 54,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 250.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $54,664,000 after buying an additional 1,751,587 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 3.9 %

BEN traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $20.95. 5,602,927 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,054,439. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.38. Franklin Resources has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $30.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.20 and a two-hundred day 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.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. Franklin Resources's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company 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. 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 payout ratio is 76.07%.

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.