Weekly Investment Analysts’ Ratings Changes for Franklin Resources (BEN)

Several analysts have recently updated their ratings and price targets for Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN):

• 11/6/2024 – Franklin Resources was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating.
• 11/5/2024 – Franklin Resources had its “underperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. They now have a $19.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $20.00.
• 11/5/2024 – Franklin Resources had its price target lowered by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $22.00 to $21.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 11/5/2024 – Franklin Resources had its price target lowered by analysts at TD Cowen from $20.00 to $18.50. They now have a “hold” rating on the stock.
• 11/5/2024 – Franklin Resources had its price target lowered by analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $20.00 to $19.00. They now have a “hold” rating on the stock.
• 11/5/2024 – Franklin Resources had its price target raised by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $19.00 to $19.50. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 10/22/2024 – Franklin Resources had its price target lowered by analysts at UBS Group AG from $24.00 to $21.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 10/18/2024 – Franklin Resources had its price target lowered by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $21.00 to $19.00. They now have an “underweight” rating on the stock.
• 10/14/2024 – Franklin Resources had its price target lowered by analysts at Barclays PLC from $20.00 to $19.00. They now have an “underweight” rating on the stock.
• 10/9/2024 – Franklin Resources had its price target lowered by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $20.00 to $19.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 10/4/2024 – Franklin Resources had its price target lowered by analysts at Evercore ISI from $20.00 to $19.00. They now have an “underperform” rating on the stock.
• 9/30/2024 – Franklin Resources had its price target lowered by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. from $23.75 to $21.25. They now have a “sell” rating on the stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.2 %

BEN stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.52. 3,072,554 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,032,690. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.94 and a twelve month high of $30.32. The firm has a market cap of $11.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $20.35 and its 200 day moving average is $21.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 5.76%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 18,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,055. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the acquisition, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 18,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. Company insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth about $39,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 27.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 39,678 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $800,000 after purchasing an additional 8,468 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 73.4% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 258,044 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $5,200,000 after purchasing an additional 109,196 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 36,289 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 9,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 28.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 245,148 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $4,940,000 after buying an additional 54,765 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

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.