Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target Raised to $22.50 at Wells Fargo & Company

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) had its price objective increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $19.50 to $22.50 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the closed-end fund's stock.

BEN has been the subject of several other reports. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "underperform" rating and set a $19.00 price objective (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.66.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE BEN traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $22.10. The company had a trading volume of 3,403,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,026,943. The firm's 50 day moving average is $21.21 and its 200 day moving average is $21.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. Franklin Resources has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The company has a market capitalization of $11.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. Franklin Resources's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Franklin Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 148.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total transaction of $369,923.23. Following the sale, the insider now owns 51,019 shares in the company, valued at $2,229,020.11. This represents a 14.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375 over the last 90 days. 24.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BEN. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $432,730,000 after acquiring an additional 599,045 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 422,688 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $158,582,000 after purchasing an additional 676,760 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $71,171,000 after purchasing an additional 54,063 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $60,421,000 after buying an additional 925,590 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.