Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) had its target price lifted by UBS Group from $19.00 to $23.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the closed-end fund's stock.

BEN has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Franklin Resources stock traded down $0.01 on Monday, hitting $20.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,611,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,762,716. Franklin Resources has a one year low of $18.83 and a one year high of $28.61. The firm has a market cap of $10.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $20.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.41% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.20%. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is presently 196.93%.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BEN. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $432,730,000 after purchasing an additional 599,045 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $147,312,000 after acquiring an additional 422,688 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,097,979 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $62,858,000 after acquiring an additional 99,405 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,923,399 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $59,316,000 after buying an additional 709,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 263.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $40,744,000 after buying an additional 1,465,148 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.