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

Key Points

• Franklin Resources has an average analyst rating of "Hold" from 10 analysts, with a mix of 2 sell, 3 hold, 4 buy, and 1 strong buy ratings. The average 12-month price target is $32.00.
• Recent analyst action has been mostly positive, including upgrades from Zacks Research and Weiss Ratings, along with higher price targets from TD Cowen and Goldman Sachs. JPMorgan also raised its target, though it kept a neutral rating.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.71 versus estimates of $0.55 and revenue of $1.75 billion versus expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.33, equal to a 4.1% yield.

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.00.

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Franklin Resources from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 56,151 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,341,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.0% in the first quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 10,194 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 1,512 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,671 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Franklin Resources stock opened at $32.31 on Friday. Franklin Resources has a 12-month low of $21.10 and a 12-month high of $34.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The company has a market capitalization of $16.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.54. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $32.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.52.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 29th. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is 100.76%.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm's core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton's product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.

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