Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target Raised to $24.00 at TD Cowen

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price objective boosted by TD Cowen from $23.00 to $24.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. TD Cowen’s target price points to a potential upside of 6.52% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also commented on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $22.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,942,307 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,662,684. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.93 and a 200 day moving average of $25.23. Franklin Resources has a 12-month low of $21.57 and a 12-month high of $30.32. The stock has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a PE ratio of 12.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.43.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.74%. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.80 per share, for a total transaction of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,703,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,022,432,777.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 24.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.4% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,652 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,129 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 22,082 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,622 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 2.9% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 17,500 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $492,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.