Analysts Set Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Price Target at $27.50

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.50.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BEN. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 26,652,644 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $793,983,000 after acquiring an additional 4,043,808 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,563,774 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $161,338,000 after purchasing an additional 415,512 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Franklin Resources by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,067,780 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $91,398,000 after purchasing an additional 154,850 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,053,751 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $75,061,000 after buying an additional 202,288 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,878,337 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $55,956,000 after buying an additional 37,474 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of BEN stock opened at $24.99 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.33. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $21.88 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The company has a market cap of $13.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.07. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 11.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

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.