Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Receives $25.89 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) have received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $25.8889.

Several research firms recently weighed in on BEN. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 26.2% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 148,049 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,850,000 after acquiring an additional 30,763 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 169.3% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,909 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 4,972 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 41.1% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,189 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 7,634 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 7.8% in the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 27,033 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth about $332,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE:BEN opened at $27.00 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Franklin Resources has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $28.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 6.97%.The company’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 122.22%.

About Franklin Resources

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.