Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target Raised to $44.00

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its target price raised by TD Cowen from $38.00 to $44.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on BEN. Zacks Research lowered shares of Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Deutsche Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.78.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.0%

BEN opened at $36.29 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.33, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.56. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $21.10 and a 1-year high of $36.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.54.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The closed-end fund reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.17. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 11.42% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $961,845,000. Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $229,850,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $152,692,000. Kopernik Global Investors LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 3,522,587 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $83,204,000 after purchasing an additional 153,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $49,527,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc. is a global investment management company that operates under the Franklin Templeton name. It offers investment products and services to individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and other clients, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and separately managed accounts. The company invests across a range of asset classes and strategies, including equities, fixed income, multi-asset portfolios and alternative investments. Its services also include retirement solutions and wealth management.