Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) PT Lowered to $21.00

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price target lowered by investment analysts at UBS Group from $24.00 to $21.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 4.53% from the company’s current price.

BEN has been the topic of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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. Barclays dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.43.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of BEN stock opened at $20.09 on Tuesday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $20.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.30. Franklin Resources has a twelve month low of $18.94 and a twelve month high of $30.32. The company has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. Equities analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total value of $345,309.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,596,245.49. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total value of $345,309.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 22,082 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $621,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.4% in the second quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 108,894 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,434,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 14.9% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,020 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 88,195 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gold Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 26,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the period. 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.