Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Reduce" from Analysts

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Reduce" by the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.86.

BEN has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 43,687 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $886,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 8,789 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $177,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.8% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 69,585 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 16,721 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,091,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,916,001. Franklin Resources has a one year low of $18.83 and a one year high of $28.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.81 billion, a PE ratio of 31.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.42. The stock's 50-day moving average is $20.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.77.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.22%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 196.93%.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

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.