Company Overview - Brand Engagement Network Inc. (BEN) is an emerging provider of personalized customer engagement AI, focusing on conversational AI technology and human-like AI avatars [2] - The company is headquartered in Jackson, WY, and aims to transform consumer engagement in industries facing significant workforce gaps [2] - BEN's technology includes multi-modal AI engagement (text, voice, and vision) to enhance customer experience and operational efficiencies [2] Recent Developments - CoCEO Paul Chang will present at the Maxim Group's 2024 Virtual Tech Conference on June 5, 2024, at 12:30 p.m. ET [1] - The presentation will be available via live webcast and replay on the company's investor relations website [1] Technology and Innovation - BEN's success is driven by a rich portfolio of conversational AI applications, powered by a proprietary large language model developed through extensive research and development [2] - The company seeks partnerships with organizations that have complementary capabilities to achieve meaningful business outcomes [2]

maogg/E+ via Getty Images In mid-October of last year, I announced to a relatively disinterested world that I was going to hold off buying back into Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) ahead of their final year earnings. Since then, the shares have returned about 4.14% against a gain of about 21.7% for the S&P 500. I thought I’d review the name yet again to see if it makes sense to buy back in. I’ve previously done relatively well on Franklin Resources, and I hope to repeat that performance. I don’t men ...

Core Viewpoint - Franklin Resources, Inc. (BEN) is positioned as a solid investment opportunity for investors seeking attractive dividend yields in a volatile macroeconomic environment, with a current dividend yield of 5.22% compared to the industry average of 1.90% [1][4]. Group 1: Dividend and Share Repurchase - BEN announced a 3.3% increase in its common stock dividend to 31 cents in December 2023, marking the fifth increase in five years with an annualized growth rate of 3.5% [1]. - The company has a share repurchase program, authorizing the repurchase of 27.2 million shares in December 2023, in addition to the 12.8 million shares available for repurchase at the end of November 2023 [2]. - In the first quarter of 2024, BEN repurchased 0.4 million shares for $11.7 million, indicating consistent capital distribution activities that may enhance investor confidence [2]. Group 2: Financial Health - As of March 31, 2024, BEN had a debt of $3.04 billion, which has decreased over recent quarters, and a liquidity position of $5.7 billion, suggesting a lower likelihood of default on debt repayments [3]. - The company's strong earnings and liquidity position support its ability to sustain dividend payments even in adverse economic conditions [3]. Group 3: Growth and Acquisitions - BEN has experienced a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.7% in assets under management (AUM) over the last five fiscal years, despite a decline in fiscal 2022 [4]. - The company completed the acquisition of Putnam Investments in January 2024, which is expected to enhance its growth in the retirement space and increase its defined contribution AUM to over $100 billion [3][4]. - BEN's diversification into alternative asset classes is anticipated to further drive AUM growth, aligning with growing client demand [4]. Group 4: Market Performance - Over the past six months, BEN's shares have declined by 2.5%, contrasting with a 22.2% rally in the industry [4].

Going against the crowd isn’t easy. When everyone runs one way, it is hard to charge ahead in the other direction. Yet with the stock market, being a contrarian can be profitable. As Warren Buffett has said, be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.Now it is quite difficult to get analysts to rate a stock as a sell. Whether it is because they don’t want their firms to lose out on potential fees from financings or just because the overall direction of the market is up so most sto ...

Group 1: Realty Income - Realty Income has an investment-grade balance sheet and has increased its dividend annually for 29 consecutive years, with a current dividend yield near a 10-year high at 5.5% [2] - The stock price has declined approximately 30% from its 2020 highs due to rising interest rates, which pressure REIT profits [2] - Realty Income's extensive portfolio across the U.S. and Europe provides multiple growth opportunities despite current market challenges [2][3] Group 2: Franklin Resources - Franklin Resources ended Q1 2024 with approximately $1.6 trillion in assets under management, benefiting from a 16% increase in assets due to rising stock prices [4] - The company has increased its dividend annually for 44 consecutive years, although its stock has declined roughly 35% since late 2021 due to concerns over mutual fund outflows [4][5] - Franklin is diversifying into exchange-traded funds and alternative investments to mitigate the impact of mutual fund challenges [5] Group 3: Hormel Foods - Hormel Foods is a Dividend King with 58 consecutive years of annual dividend increases, and its stock price has declined around 35% from recent highs in 2022, resulting in a yield of 3.2% [6][7] - The company faces challenges such as inflation, avian flu, and a slow recovery in China, but these issues are considered surmountable individually [7] - Recent fiscal first-quarter earnings results indicate that Hormel is starting to regain its footing, making it a potentially attractive investment for long-term dividend yield [7]

Franklin Resources, Inc. (BEN) reported its preliminary assets under management (AUM) of $1.60 trillion as of Apr 30, 2024. This reflected a decrease of 2.5% from the prior month’s level.The decline in AUM balance was primarily due to the impact of negative markets and long-term net outflows, including $5.9 billion related to the $25 billion AUM received from the Great-West Lifeco acquistion.BEN recorded equity assets of $564.4 billion, which declined 4.8% from the previous month. Further, fixed income AUM ...

Franklin Resources Inc.’s (BEN) second-quarter fiscal 2024 (ended Mar 31, 2023) adjusted earnings of 56 cents per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 57 cents. The bottom line declined 8% year over year.BEN’s results have benefited from a rise in revenues and an improvement in the assets under management (AUM) balance. Also, the company’s balance sheet position remained robust in the quarter. However, higher expenses were headwinds.   Adjusted operating income was $419.6 million compared with the p ...

For the quarter ended March 2024, Franklin Resources (BEN) reported revenue of $2.15 billion, up 11.7% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $0.56, compared to $0.61 in the year-ago quarter.The reported revenue represents a surprise of +3.04% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.09 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being $0.57, the EPS surprise was -1.75%.While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street ...

Franklin Resources (BEN) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.56 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.57 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.61 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of -1.75%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this investment manager would post earnings of $0.57 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.65, delivering a surprise of 14.04%.Over the last four quarters, ...

Table of Contents UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 10-Q Delaware 13-2670991 (MARK ONE) ☒ QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2024 or ☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the transition period from to Commission File Number: 001-09318 FRANKLIN RESOURCES, INC. (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) (St ...