Evercore ISI Trims Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Target Price to $26.00

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price objective decreased by Evercore ISI from $29.00 to $26.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an underperform rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on BEN. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.8 %

BEN opened at $23.38 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $26.54 and its 200-day moving average is $26.32. The company has a market cap of $12.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.44. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $21.88 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 11.09%. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 26,652,644 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $793,983,000 after acquiring an additional 4,043,808 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,563,774 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $161,338,000 after acquiring an additional 415,512 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,067,780 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $91,398,000 after purchasing an additional 154,850 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 7.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,053,751 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $75,061,000 after acquiring an additional 202,288 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,878,337 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $55,956,000 after purchasing an additional 37,474 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is 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.