Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Stock Price

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) had its price objective reduced by Barclays from $22.00 to $17.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the closed-end fund's stock.

BEN has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.50 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $18.96.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 1.9 %

Franklin Resources stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $17.28. The company had a trading volume of 1,185,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,340,788. The firm has a market cap of $9.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.29. Franklin Resources has a 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $25.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66.

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

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.41%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 196.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,676,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 173.7% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,531,700 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $71,658,000 after purchasing an additional 2,241,500 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 132.7% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,935,292 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $59,557,000 after buying an additional 1,673,971 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,438,863 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $130,645,000 after buying an additional 1,599,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,403,875 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $190,805,000 after acquiring an additional 1,542,478 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

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.