Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Receives $20.66 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BENGet Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.66.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.50 to $22.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on BEN

Franklin Resources Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $20.66 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $10.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.02, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $21.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.44. Franklin Resources has a 12-month low of $18.94 and a 12-month high of $30.20.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BENGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. Franklin Resources’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 148.84%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total value of $369,923.23. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 51,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,020.11. The trade was a 14.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 250.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $54,664,000 after buying an additional 1,751,587 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 263.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,744,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465,148 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 517.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,406,324 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $31,431,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178,594 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 44.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 925,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 110.3% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,623,236 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $36,279,000 after purchasing an additional 851,442 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

(Get Free Report

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.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN)

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