Bank of America Cuts Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target to $17.00

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price objective trimmed by Bank of America from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underperform rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group lifted 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.54.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of BEN stock opened at $17.49 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.53. Franklin Resources has a twelve month low of $17.19 and a twelve month high of $27.55. The company has a market capitalization of $9.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.90, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 196.92%.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 147.1% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 350.4% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 561.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.