Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target Cut to $27.00

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price target trimmed by BMO Capital Markets from $30.00 to $27.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a market perform rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Franklin Resources from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $26.00.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $23.38 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $12.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.44. Franklin Resources has a 12-month low of $21.88 and a 12-month high of $30.32. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 11.09%. The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 70.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BEN. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 47.1% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 49,710 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,222,000 after purchasing an additional 15,914 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Franklin Resources by 14.4% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 65,325 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after buying an additional 8,216 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 1.6% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 443,545 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $10,902,000 after buying an additional 6,867 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 27.5% in the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 135,753 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $3,337,000 after buying an additional 29,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 27,592 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 3,354 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

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.