Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Receives $27.50 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) have earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $27.50.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:BEN opened at $25.58 on Friday. Franklin Resources has a 1 year low of $21.88 and a 1 year high of $30.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $13.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.33.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.15% and a net margin of 12.30%. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.85%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 65.26%.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 240.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 882 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 623 shares during the period. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 149.1% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,111 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 665 shares during the period. Finally, Tobam raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 2,170.0% in the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 1,135 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,085 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

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.