Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Research Coverage Started at Barclays

Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued an underweight rating and a $20.00 price target on the closed-end fund’s stock.

BEN has been the subject of a number of other reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an underperform rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $24.45.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN stock opened at $20.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Franklin Resources has a 12-month low of $19.50 and a 12-month high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.12%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.80 per share, for a total transaction of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 88,703,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,022,432,777.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 331,600 shares of company stock worth $7,189,637 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 11.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,008,853,000 after acquiring an additional 3,592,943 shares in the last quarter. Power Corp of Canada boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% in the first quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $887,071,000 after purchasing an additional 31,385,293 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Franklin Resources by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 26,652,644 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $793,983,000 after buying an additional 4,043,808 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 10.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $158,582,000 after buying an additional 676,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $71,171,000 after buying an additional 54,063 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.