Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Receives $29.56 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.00.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BEN. Morgan Stanley upgraded Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $31.39 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $16.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.96, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $28.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Franklin Resources has a twelve month low of $21.10 and a twelve month high of $32.47.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 8.12%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 277.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,150 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 129.1% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.