Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target Lowered to $19.00 at Barclays

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its target price reduced by Barclays from $20.00 to $19.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on BEN. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an underperform rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a sell rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $22.33.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $20.13 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.61. The company has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin Resources has a 12 month low of $18.94 and a 12 month high of $30.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. Sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 18,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 18,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,055. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 in the last three months. Company insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,652 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Franklin Resources by 2.1% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 22,082 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Interval Partners LP lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 0.4% during the second quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 108,894 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,434,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 14.9% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,020 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 88,195 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.