Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) has been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the nine analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $23.00.

BEN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 431,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,097,637. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth $27,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter worth about $44,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.1 %

BEN opened at $20.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $21.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.64. Franklin Resources has a twelve month low of $18.94 and a twelve month high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. Research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.16%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.