Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $19.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 2.8 %

Franklin Resources stock traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.53. The stock had a trading volume of 5,471,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,061,040. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $11.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.38. Franklin Resources has a 12 month low of $18.94 and a 12 month high of $30.32. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $20.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.95.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The company 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 business’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 12,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,857,182. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 18,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. Company insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Franklin Resources by 11.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,008,853,000 after purchasing an additional 3,592,943 shares in the last quarter. Power Corp of Canada grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% during the first quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $887,071,000 after purchasing an additional 31,385,293 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $158,582,000 after purchasing an additional 676,760 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 1.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $71,171,000 after acquiring an additional 54,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 250.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $54,664,000 after acquiring an additional 1,751,587 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by 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.