Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target Raised to $25.00

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its target price hoisted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $24.00 to $25.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 0.08% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on BEN. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. StockNews.com lowered Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.50.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN opened at $25.02 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $27.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.27. 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 current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.40.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.07. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.15% and a net margin of 12.30%. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 63.4% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 74,206 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,072,000 after purchasing an additional 28,795 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 24.8% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 23.5% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 76,665 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,140,000 after purchasing an additional 14,580 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 89.2% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 36,852 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 17,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.0% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 489,475 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $13,666,000 after purchasing an additional 18,645 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.