Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Earns “Underperform” Rating from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN)‘s stock had its “underperform” rating reaffirmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $19.00 target price on the closed-end fund’s stock, down from their prior target price of $20.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would indicate a potential downside of 7.86% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.66.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:BEN traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $20.62. The stock had a trading volume of 1,131,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,033,543. Franklin Resources has a twelve month low of $18.94 and a twelve month high of $30.32. The stock has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $336,142.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 65,862 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,341.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Power Corp of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% during the 1st quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $887,071,000 after purchasing an additional 31,385,293 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,008,853,000 after buying an additional 3,592,943 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 250.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $54,664,000 after buying an additional 1,751,587 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 517.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,406,324 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $31,431,000 after buying an additional 1,178,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 110.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,623,236 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,279,000 after buying an additional 851,442 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.