Brokerages Set Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) PT at $26.00

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) have earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $26.00.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cooper Financial Group lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 14,682 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,652 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Verity Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,129 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 2.1% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 22,082 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,622 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.6 %

BEN opened at $21.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.44. 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’s 50 day moving average is $24.01 and its 200-day moving average is $26.36. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $21.57 and a 1-year high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.68%. Franklin Resources’s 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.