Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on BEN. Evercore reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research downgraded Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $33.05 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.54. Franklin Resources has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $36.28.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the first quarter valued at approximately $6,254,000. Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,418,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,742,000. Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,580,000. Finally, Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,676,000. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc, operating under the Franklin Templeton name, is a global investment management organization. The company provides investment solutions for individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and retirement plans through a broad range of strategies and investment vehicles.

Its offerings include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional mandates and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton manages strategies across equities, fixed income, multi-asset portfolios, alternatives and other specialized areas, while also providing investment research, portfolio management and wealth-management services.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.