Barclays Lowers Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target to $19.00

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price target lowered by research analysts at Barclays from $21.00 to $19.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 3.20% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $22.50 to $20.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 price objective (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.18.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:BEN traded up $0.23 on Friday, reaching $19.63. 1,131,410 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,730,103. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.41. Franklin Resources has a 12 month low of $18.83 and a 12 month high of $28.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.20.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. Franklin Resources’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $54,664,000 after acquiring an additional 1,751,587 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 263.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465,148 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 517.5% in the second 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 851,442 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.