Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.33.

A number of research analysts have commented on BEN shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE BEN opened at $20.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. Franklin Resources has a one year low of $18.94 and a one year high of $30.32. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $20.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.04%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 70.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $336,142.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 65,862 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,341.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,055. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $336,142.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,341.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders bought 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,008,853,000 after purchasing an additional 3,592,943 shares during the last quarter. Power Corp of Canada lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% in the first quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $887,071,000 after buying an additional 31,385,293 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $158,582,000 after acquiring an additional 676,760 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $71,171,000 after acquiring an additional 54,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 250.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $54,664,000 after acquiring an additional 1,751,587 shares during the period. 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.