Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Technical: Franklin Resources shares crossed above their 200-day moving average, trading around $24.86 versus the 200‑day MA of $24.26 and hitting an intraday high of $25.21 on ~5.23M shares.
• Analyst sentiment is muted—two Buys, five Holds and four Sells result in a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Reduce" with an average target price of $25.89, even as several firms recently raised price targets but maintained underweight/underperform calls.
• Dividend: The firm declared a $0.33 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.32), implying a 5.3% yield with a payout ratio of ~122% (record date Mar 31, payable Apr 10), which may raise sustainability concerns.

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $24.26 and traded as high as $25.21. Franklin Resources shares last traded at $24.8570, with a volume of 5,226,133 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Franklin Resources from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Evercore lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $25.89.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $12.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 1.86.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 6.97%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is currently 122.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 56,151 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its position in Franklin Resources by 35.5% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 1,512 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 10,471 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,392 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Franklin Resources

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.

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