Brokerages Set Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Price Target at $27.05

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $27.05.

Several research firms have weighed in on BEN. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Cooper Financial Group increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 14,682 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,129 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,622 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,974 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 25,350 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN opened at $28.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.81 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.40. Franklin Resources has a twelve month low of $21.88 and a twelve month high of $30.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $27.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 11.15%. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

About Franklin Resources

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.