Analysts Set Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) PT at $27.50

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the seven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given 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 $27.50.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BEN. UBS Group increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. TD Cowen began coverage on Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $25.35 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $26.96 and a 200-day moving average of $26.33. The company has a market capitalization of $13.35 billion, a PE ratio of 13.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. Franklin Resources has a 52-week low of $21.88 and a 52-week high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 11.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.89%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,491,598 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $44,435,000 after purchasing an additional 144,843 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 53.6% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,188,199 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $35,396,000 after purchasing an additional 414,826 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 966,212 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $23,749,000 after purchasing an additional 110,806 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 14,873 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 981,103 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $24,116,000 after purchasing an additional 106,129 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.