Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Receives $25.89 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $25.8889.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BEN. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 3,869.2% during the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth $25,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 277.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,150 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE BEN opened at $23.89 on Friday. Franklin Resources has a 12 month low of $16.25 and a 12 month high of $28.32. 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 stock has a market cap of $12.44 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $26.13 and its 200 day moving average is $24.34.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.