Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target Raised to $25.00 at Morgan Stanley

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $24.00 to $25.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on BEN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. They set a market perform rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Franklin Resources from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and upped their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $27.50.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.4 %

Franklin Resources stock opened at $24.81 on Wednesday. Franklin Resources has a 12 month low of $21.88 and a 12 month high of $30.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $13.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.40.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.07. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 11.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.00%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 63.4% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 74,206 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,072,000 after buying an additional 28,795 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources by 24.8% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 2,277 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 23.5% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 76,665 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,140,000 after acquiring an additional 14,580 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 89.2% in the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 36,852 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 17,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 489,475 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $13,666,000 after purchasing an additional 18,645 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.