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

Key Points

• Franklin Resources, Inc. has received an average rating of "Reduce" from 14 brokerages, with five recommending a sell, six a hold, and three a buy.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32, with an annualized yield of 5.5% and a payout ratio of 250.98%.
• Franklin Resources reported earnings of $0.49 per share, surpassing estimates but showing a revenue decline of 2.2% year-over-year.

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" by the fourteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $23.5833.

BEN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Zacks Research downgraded Franklin Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BEN. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Franklin Resources by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,985,065 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $230,713,000 after purchasing an additional 263,619 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.1% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 8,677,417 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $206,956,000 after buying an additional 97,708 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 20.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,223,369 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $139,040,000 after buying an additional 1,220,419 shares during the period. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 99.1% during the 1st quarter. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. now owns 5,237,650 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $100,825,000 after acquiring an additional 2,607,460 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,778,910 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $72,009,000 after purchasing an additional 26,584 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $23.27 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55. Franklin Resources has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $26.08. The company has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a PE ratio of 45.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.51.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is 250.98%.

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.

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