Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target Raised to $20.00

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its target price increased by Barclays from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

BEN has been the topic of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $14.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.92.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $24.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $12.93 billion, a PE ratio of 36.18, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $16.25 and a 1-year high of $25.36. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $22.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.71.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. Research analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 188.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BEN. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 147.1% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 350.4% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 49.9% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the first quarter valued at about $46,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

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.