Brokerages Set Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Price Target at $24.09

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.0909.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Franklin Resources in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Board of the Pension Protection Fund lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 413.8% in the 4th quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund now owns 66,800 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,596,000 after purchasing an additional 53,800 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,170 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 35.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,101,000 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $48,596,000 after purchasing an additional 554,842 shares during the last quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 4.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 22,879 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $529,000 after buying an additional 902 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.2%

Franklin Resources stock opened at $25.17 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.12 billion, a PE ratio of 27.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.86. Franklin Resources has a 12 month low of $16.25 and a 12 month high of $26.08.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The closed-end fund reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 9.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 30th. This is a positive change from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 145.05%.

About Franklin Resources

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.