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

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) have been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.66.

Several research analysts have recently commented on BEN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 2.1 %

Franklin Resources stock opened at $20.88 on Thursday. Franklin Resources has a 12 month low of $18.94 and a 12 month high of $30.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The business’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.13%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. This is a positive change from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.84%.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $345,309.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,596,245.49. This represents a 17.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375 in the last ninety days. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $432,730,000 after buying an additional 599,045 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $147,312,000 after acquiring an additional 422,688 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 10.5% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $158,582,000 after purchasing an additional 676,760 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $71,171,000 after purchasing an additional 54,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.