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

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.86.

BEN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $19.79 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.08 and a 200 day moving average of $20.57. Franklin Resources has a 12 month low of $18.83 and a 12 month high of $28.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 196.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $880,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $1,857,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Franklin Resources by 9.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,192 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $7,681,000 after buying an additional 32,490 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased its position in Franklin Resources by 78.3% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 62,076 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,251,000 after buying an additional 27,259 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $60,421,000 after buying an additional 925,590 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.