Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN – Get Rating) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

BEN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.55.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN stock opened at $24.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09. The stock has a market cap of $12.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.74 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.45. Franklin Resources has a 52 week low of $20.24 and a 52 week high of $34.37.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.79% and a return on equity of 11.21%. Franklin Resources’s revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc purchased 2,465,483 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $10.14 per share, with a total value of $24,999,997.62. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,955,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,248,597.62. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 7.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,909,926 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $761,187,000 after acquiring an additional 2,384,798 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 4.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,072,606 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $951,307,000 after buying an additional 1,390,583 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 0.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,693,626 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $242,726,000 after buying an additional 80,446 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,227,301 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $190,656,000 after purchasing an additional 866,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,903,235 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $148,558,000 after purchasing an additional 54,240 shares during the last quarter. 45.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

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Franklin Resources, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of investment management and related services. The firm offers services and products under various distinct brand names, including, but not limited to, Franklin, Templeton, Legg Mason, Benefit Street Partners, Brandywine Global Investment Management, Clarion Partners, ClearBridge Investments, Fiduciary Trust International, Franklin Bissett, Franklin Mutual Series, K2, LibertyShares, Martin Currie, Royce Investment Partners and Western Asset Management Company.