Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target Cut to $25.50

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price target decreased by investment analysts at TD Cowen from $29.00 to $25.50 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. TD Cowen’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.01% from the company’s current price.

BEN has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.40.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN traded down $0.41 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $22.97. The stock had a trading volume of 1,538,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,652,739. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $26.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.37. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $21.88 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The stock has a market cap of $12.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.09, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 11.15%. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Franklin Resources by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 26,652,644 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $793,983,000 after purchasing an additional 4,043,808 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,563,774 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $161,338,000 after purchasing an additional 415,512 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,067,780 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $91,398,000 after buying an additional 154,850 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,053,751 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $75,061,000 after buying an additional 202,288 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,878,337 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $55,956,000 after acquiring an additional 37,474 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.