Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Barclays

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its target price cut by Barclays from $36.00 to $34.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on BEN. Zacks Research cut shares of Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, September 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.89.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $30.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.71. Franklin Resources has a 1 year low of $21.10 and a 1 year high of $36.28. The company has a market capitalization of $15.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.54.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 8.72%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.91 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 89.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth about $961,845,000. Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $229,850,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $152,692,000. Kopernik Global Investors LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 3,522,587 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $83,204,000 after acquiring an additional 153,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 37.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,964,424 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $46,400,000 after acquiring an additional 533,192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc, operating under the Franklin Templeton brand, is a global investment management organization. The company provides investment solutions for individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and retirement-plan participants through a range of actively managed and specialized strategies.

Its products and services include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional mandates and alternative investment strategies. Franklin Templeton offers capabilities spanning equities, fixed income, multi-asset investing, private markets and other specialized areas, with investment teams and brands serving different market segments and regions.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.