Franklin Resources (BEN) – Research Analysts’ Recent Ratings Changes

Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) has recently received a number of price target changes and ratings updates:

• 2/3/2025 – Franklin Resources had its price target raised by analysts at Barclays PLC from $19.00 to $22.00. They now have an “underweight” rating on the stock.
• 2/3/2025 – Franklin Resources had its price target raised by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $19.00 to $21.00. They now have an “underperform” rating on the stock.
• 2/3/2025 – Franklin Resources had its price target raised by analysts at UBS Group AG from $19.00 to $23.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 2/3/2025 – Franklin Resources had its price target raised by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $20.00 to $23.00. They now have a “market perform” rating on the stock.
• 2/3/2025 – Franklin Resources had its price target raised by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $20.50 to $24.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 1/17/2025 – Franklin Resources had its price target lowered by analysts at Barclays PLC from $21.00 to $19.00. They now have an “underweight” rating on the stock.
• 1/16/2025 – Franklin Resources had its price target lowered by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 1/14/2025 – Franklin Resources had its price target lowered by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $22.50 to $20.50. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 1/6/2025 – Franklin Resources was upgraded by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating. They now have a $22.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $21.00.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $20.38. The company had a trading volume of 3,828,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,375,871. The company has a market capitalization of $10.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.83 and a 1-year high of $28.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.74.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.28%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 196.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 147.1% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 350.4% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 44.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased 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 worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

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.