Brokerages Set Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Target Price at $26.00

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) have been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three 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 brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $25.15.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BEN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $25.50 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. UBS Group dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.80 per share, with a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 88,703,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,022,432,777.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 240.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 882 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 149.1% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,111 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tobam boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2,170.0% during the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 1,135 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:BEN opened at $22.45 on Thursday. Franklin Resources has a fifty-two week low of $21.57 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.77.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.52%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 70.86%.

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.