BMO Capital Markets Lowers Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target to $27.00

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price target reduced by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $30.00 to $27.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 18.58% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on BEN. StockNews.com lowered Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.00.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.3 %

BEN opened at $22.77 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $26.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.35. Franklin Resources has a twelve month low of $21.88 and a twelve month high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The firm has a market cap of $11.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.40.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 11.09%. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.51 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors grew 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 acquiring an additional 4,043,808 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 6.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,563,774 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $161,338,000 after acquiring an additional 415,512 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Franklin Resources by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,067,780 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $91,398,000 after acquiring an additional 154,850 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 7.1% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,053,751 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $75,061,000 after purchasing an additional 202,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,878,337 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $55,956,000 after purchasing an additional 37,474 shares in 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.