Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) PT Lowered to $21.25 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $23.75 to $21.25 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sell” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 2.21% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. 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. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.85.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE BEN opened at $20.79 on Monday. Franklin Resources has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $30.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $10.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $21.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.19.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,055. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 18,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637. 24.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Power Corp of Canada lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 31,385,293 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Franklin Resources by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 26,652,644 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $793,983,000 after purchasing an additional 4,043,808 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 11.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,592,943 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $54,664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751,587 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of 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 worth $31,431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,594 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

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.