Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target Raised to $21.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price objective raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $19.00 to $21.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underperform rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.50 to $20.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $20.72 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market cap of $10.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.87, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $20.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.97. Franklin Resources has a twelve month low of $18.83 and a twelve month high of $28.61.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.41%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.18%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. This is a positive change from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 196.92%.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its position in 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 worth $432,730,000 after purchasing an additional 599,045 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $147,312,000 after buying an additional 422,688 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after buying an additional 925,590 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,923,399 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $59,316,000 after acquiring an additional 709,736 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 263.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,744,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465,148 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Franklin Resources

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.