Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target Raised to $20.00

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) had its target price lifted by Barclays from $19.00 to $20.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the closed-end fund's stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $14.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.92.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN stock traded up $0.08 on Wednesday, hitting $24.60. 3,943,251 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,535,659. The firm has a market cap of $12.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.18, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.45. Franklin Resources has a 52 week low of $16.25 and a 52 week high of $25.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The company's revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.20%. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is currently 188.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 464,238 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $8,937,000 after buying an additional 85,407 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth $203,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 81,576 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,573,000 after buying an additional 4,530 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 230.1% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 291,821 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $5,921,000 after purchasing an additional 203,414 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 476,253 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $9,168,000 after purchasing an additional 19,673 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.