Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 6th, 2023

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN – Get Rating) has received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the twelve analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $24.55.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BEN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 31st. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 19th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc acquired 2,465,483 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $10.14 per share, for a total transaction of $24,999,997.62. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,955,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,248,597.62. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BEN. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,909,926 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $761,187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,384,798 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Franklin Resources by 202.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,126,650 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $59,377,000 after acquiring an additional 1,424,044 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Franklin Resources by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,072,606 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $951,307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390,583 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,423,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 30.9% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,507,038 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $153,758,000 after buying an additional 1,298,729 shares during the period. 45.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:BEN opened at $25.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 4.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $26.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.32. The stock has a market cap of $12.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39 and a beta of 1.26. Franklin Resources has a 12 month low of $20.24 and a 12 month high of $34.37.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.79% and a return on equity of 11.21%. Franklin Resources’s revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 31st were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.70%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.29%.

About Franklin Resources

(Get Rating)

Franklin Resources, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of investment management and related services. The firm offers services and products under various distinct brand names, including, but not limited to, Franklin, Templeton, Legg Mason, Benefit Street Partners, Brandywine Global Investment Management, Clarion Partners, ClearBridge Investments, Fiduciary Trust International, Franklin Bissett, Franklin Mutual Series, K2, LibertyShares, Martin Currie, Royce Investment Partners and Western Asset Management Company.