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

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $24.6364.

BEN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 14th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $25.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.49 billion, a PE ratio of 28.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40. Franklin Resources has a 52 week low of $16.25 and a 52 week high of $26.25.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The closed-end fund reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.12% and a net margin of 5.98%.The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 30th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 30th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. This is an increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 145.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 5.8% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,065,908 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $232,833,000 after acquiring an additional 553,184 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 8,677,417 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $206,956,000 after purchasing an additional 97,708 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Franklin Resources by 49.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,118,686 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $95,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,370,132 shares during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 3,242,470 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $74,998,000 after buying an additional 53,741 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,236,553 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $77,192,000 after buying an additional 80,146 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.