Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Stock Price Down 3.6%

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) shares fell 3.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $23.89 and last traded at $24.08. 634,792 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 3,564,732 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on BEN. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on 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 lowered 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 raised Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.50.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $12.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.37.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.15% and a net margin of 12.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.25%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BEN. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 240.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 882 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 149.1% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,111 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tobam grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2,170.0% in the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 1,135 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,085 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

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.