Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price objective raised by Barclays from $19.00 to $21.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on BEN. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.39.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Franklin Resources stock opened at $22.39 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $11.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.15, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.61. Franklin Resources has a 12 month low of $18.94 and a 12 month high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.72%. This is an increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 148.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total transaction of $369,923.23. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 51,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,229,020.11. This represents a 14.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $432,730,000 after purchasing an additional 599,045 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 6.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $147,312,000 after buying an additional 422,688 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources by 10.5% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $158,582,000 after acquiring an additional 676,760 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $71,171,000 after acquiring an additional 54,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after acquiring an additional 925,590 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by 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.