Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Receives $25.89 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $25.8889.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, February 2nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,122,937 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $241,837,000 after buying an additional 768,707 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 70.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 29,943 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $714,000 after purchasing an additional 12,339 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 225,478 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $5,387,000 after purchasing an additional 5,782 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 47,784 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 5,903.4% in the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 546,491 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $13,056,000 after purchasing an additional 537,388 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of BEN opened at $26.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.46. Franklin Resources has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $28.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 122.22%.

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.