Franklin Resources Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:BEN)

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 40,631 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 3,179% compared to the typical volume of 1,239 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $24.09.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.5% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 102,708 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,376,000 after buying an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in Franklin Resources by 4.5% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 12,287 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,150 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 122,857 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,354 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $24.39 on Tuesday. Franklin Resources has a 52 week low of $16.25 and a 52 week high of $26.08. The company has a market capitalization of $12.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.80, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The closed-end fund reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 9.12%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 30th. This is an increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 140.66%.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.