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

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.96.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.50 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 147.1% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 350.4% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 561.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,661 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.2 %

BEN opened at $18.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Franklin Resources has a 12 month low of $16.25 and a 12 month high of $24.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.22.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.82%. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is 196.92%.

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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