Analysts Set Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Price Target at $20.20

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.20.

BEN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN stock opened at $21.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.85. Franklin Resources has a 12 month low of $18.94 and a 12 month high of $30.32. The company has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.38. 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 (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 5.48%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.77%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 144.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 12,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at $51,857,182. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 12,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.66 per share, with a total value of $249,682.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,857,182. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,769,890,529.28. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 11.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,008,853,000 after acquiring an additional 3,592,943 shares during the last quarter. Power Corp of Canada boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% in the first quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $887,071,000 after purchasing an additional 31,385,293 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $158,582,000 after purchasing an additional 676,760 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $71,171,000 after buying an additional 54,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after buying an additional 925,590 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.