Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) PT Lowered to $19.00

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its target price lowered by equities researchers at Evercore ISI from $20.00 to $19.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underperform” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 4.52% from the stock’s previous close.

BEN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.93.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.7 %

BEN opened at $19.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. Franklin Resources has a 12-month low of $18.94 and a 12-month high of $30.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $20.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.97.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. As a group, research analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 18,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,055. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637. 24.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 10.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 62,858 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 5,715 shares during the period. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.1% in the second quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group now owns 51,788 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,157,000 after buying an additional 4,732 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 46.7% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 20,591 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 6,557 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 6.0% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,841 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 1,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 12.3% during the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,876 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 2,062 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.