Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the seven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.50.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 240.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 882 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the period. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $25.15 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.24, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Franklin Resources has a 12 month low of $21.88 and a 12 month high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.15% and a net margin of 12.30%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.93%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.26%.

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.