JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target to $19.00

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

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on BEN. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.18.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE BEN opened at $19.56 on Thursday. Franklin Resources has a 12-month low of $18.83 and a 12-month high of $28.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. 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 (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The business’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.55%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 148.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 254.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 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.