Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target Raised to $36.00

by · The Markets Daily

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BENFree Report) had its price objective boosted by Barclays from $34.00 to $36.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

BEN has been the topic of several other reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.44.

View Our Latest Analysis on BEN

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $34.92 on Monday. Franklin Resources has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $36.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $32.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.55.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BENGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.84 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 29th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 29th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.80%.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 26.2% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 148,049 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,850,000 after purchasing an additional 30,763 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 169.3% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,909 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 4,972 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 41.1% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,189 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 7,634 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $169,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 509,171 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $12,144,000 after acquiring an additional 174,579 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Featured Articles