Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

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

Several other analysts have also recently commented on BEN. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Evercore upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $25.89.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN opened at $23.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.86. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $16.25 and a 1-year high of $28.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $26.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.34.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during 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%. Franklin Resources’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. Research analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 122.22%.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,882,860 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $259,988,000 after acquiring an additional 816,952 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Franklin Resources by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,122,937 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $241,837,000 after purchasing an additional 768,707 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,069,495 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $192,774,000 after purchasing an additional 272,335 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,083,168 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $169,217,000 after purchasing an additional 243,836 shares during the period. Finally, Azora Capital LP boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 78.8% during the fourth quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 5,796,575 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $138,480,000 after purchasing an additional 2,554,105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.