Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) has received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $25.7778.

BEN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Evercore set a $27.00 price objective on Franklin Resources in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $1,328,000. United Community Bank increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 172.1% in the third quarter. United Community Bank now owns 34,069 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 21,547 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth about $522,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 34,715.9% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 89,825 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,078,000 after buying an additional 89,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $840,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $26.44 on Wednesday. Franklin Resources has a 12-month low of $17.17 and a 12-month high of $28.32. The stock has a market cap of $13.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $25.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.15. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 122.22%.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

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.