Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target Cut to $19.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price target trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.50 to $20.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.18.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $19.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.16. The stock has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.41. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $18.83 and a 1-year high of $28.61.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.55%. This is a boost from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 148.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% during the third 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 stake in shares of 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 worth $147,312,000 after acquiring an additional 422,688 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 10.5% during the second 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 lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 1.7% in the second 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, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 44.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 925,590 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.