TD Cowen Lowers Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target to $17.50

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price target decreased by TD Cowen from $20.00 to $17.50 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

BEN has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.79.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE BEN traded down $0.87 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $17.72. 2,133,521 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,562,945. Franklin Resources has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $26.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.71 and a 200 day moving average of $20.41. The company has a market cap of $9.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 196.92%.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $880,000. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 159,738 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $3,241,000 after buying an additional 27,169 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 93,789 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,903,000 after acquiring an additional 24,204 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 263.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,744,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465,148 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 543,875 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $11,035,000 after acquiring an additional 27,607 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.