Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) PT Lowered to $26.00 at Evercore ISI

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its target price reduced by Evercore ISI from $29.00 to $26.00 in a research report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an underperform rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

BEN has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group upped their price target 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. TD Cowen started coverage on Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a market perform rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Franklin Resources from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Franklin Resources from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $23.38 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $26.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.32. Franklin Resources has a 52 week low of $21.88 and a 52 week high of $30.32. The company has a market cap of $12.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.44.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.56 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.30%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 70.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 148.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 65,100 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,939,000 after purchasing an additional 38,919 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,491,598 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $44,435,000 after acquiring an additional 144,843 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 53.6% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,188,199 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $35,396,000 after acquiring an additional 414,826 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 966,212 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $23,749,000 after acquiring an additional 110,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 290,588 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $8,657,000 after purchasing an additional 2,338 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.