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

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.66.

Several research firms have issued reports on BEN. StockNews.com raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.50 to $22.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $20.29 on Thursday. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $29.41. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $21.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

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

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. This is a boost from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 148.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total value of $369,923.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 51,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,020.11. The trade was a 14.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375. 22.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BEN. State Street Corp grew its position in Franklin Resources by 2.9% during 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 valued at $147,312,000 after acquiring an additional 422,688 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $158,582,000 after acquiring an additional 676,760 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $71,171,000 after purchasing an additional 54,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is 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.