Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target Lowered to $20.50 at Wells Fargo & Company

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $22.50 to $20.50 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 8.18% from the stock’s previous close.

BEN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.55.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of BEN opened at $18.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $21.28 and a 200 day moving average of $21.23. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $18.83 and a 1-year high of $28.61.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $345,309.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. The trade was a 17.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 22.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 254.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

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.