Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.43.

Several research firms have recently commented on BEN. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Franklin Resources in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 18,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,055. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 over the last quarter. 24.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $20.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Franklin Resources has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $30.32. The company has a market cap of $10.52 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $20.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.78.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.17%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 76.07%.

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.