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

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) has received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $26.00.

Several research analysts have commented on BEN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $25.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.80 per share, with a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 88,703,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,022,432,777.60. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BEN. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,008,853,000 after acquiring an additional 3,592,943 shares during the period. Power Corp of Canada grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% in the 1st quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $887,071,000 after buying an additional 31,385,293 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 26,652,644 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $793,983,000 after acquiring an additional 4,043,808 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,067,780 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $91,398,000 after acquiring an additional 154,850 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,878,337 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $55,956,000 after acquiring an additional 37,474 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $22.44 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.04. The stock has a market cap of $11.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.43. Franklin Resources has a 12-month low of $21.57 and a 12-month high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 70.86%.

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.