Brokerages Set Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Target Price at $33.00

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $33.00.

BEN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research cut Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth $961,845,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 3,197.1% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 11,054,024 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $367,767,000 after buying an additional 10,718,763 shares during the period. Azora Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $229,850,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at about $152,692,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $98,168,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE BEN opened at $33.48 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.51. Franklin Resources has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $36.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.54.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.06. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 8.72%.The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 89.80%.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc, operating under the Franklin Templeton name, is a global investment management organization. The company provides investment solutions for individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and retirement plans through a broad range of strategies and investment vehicles.

Its offerings include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional mandates and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton manages strategies across equities, fixed income, multi-asset portfolios, alternatives and other specialized areas, while also providing investment research, portfolio management and wealth-management services.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.