Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Stock Price

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. TD Cowen raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $23.00 price target (up previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, August 4th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.58.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $25.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.34 billion, a PE ratio of 50.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $23.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.31. Franklin Resources has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $25.79.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.38 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 3.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 250.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 230.1% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 291,821 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $5,921,000 after purchasing an additional 203,414 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 41,096 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 2,448 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 262.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 492,241 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $9,988,000 after acquiring an additional 356,441 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 8,789 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 125,300 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,542,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

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.