Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target Lowered to $19.00 at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its target price decreased by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $20.00 to $19.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a hold rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on BEN. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 3.9 %

NYSE BEN opened at $20.95 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $20.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Franklin Resources has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $30.32. The company has a market capitalization of $10.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.38.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.07%.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total value of $345,309.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. Company insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Power Corp of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% in 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 buying an additional 31,385,293 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 11.1% in the 1st 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 during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 250.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $54,664,000 after acquiring an additional 1,751,587 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 517.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,406,324 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $31,431,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 110.3% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,623,236 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $36,279,000 after acquiring an additional 851,442 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Franklin Resources

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.