Barclays Trims Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Target Price to $19.00

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price objective reduced by Barclays from $20.00 to $19.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on BEN. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.33.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.4 %

Franklin Resources stock opened at $20.54 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $20.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.54. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $30.32. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.04%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.86%.

Insider Activity

In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 18,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,055. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 18,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 approximately $4,544,055. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $336,142.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,341.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have bought 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,592,943 shares in the last quarter. Power Corp of Canada increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% during the 1st quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $887,071,000 after acquiring an additional 31,385,293 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $158,582,000 after purchasing an additional 676,760 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $71,171,000 after purchasing an additional 54,063 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 250.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $54,664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751,587 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.