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

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.20.

BEN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of BEN opened at $21.49 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $20.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.98, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.38. Franklin Resources has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.61%. Franklin Resources’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 144.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 12,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at $51,857,182. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 cost of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 12,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,857,182. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. Company insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the first quarter worth about $32,000. 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.