Barclays Boosts Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target to $22.00

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its target price increased by research analysts at Barclays from $19.00 to $22.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential upside of 4.74% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on BEN. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. 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 note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 5.6 %

BEN stock traded down $1.24 during trading on Monday, reaching $21.01. The stock had a trading volume of 4,338,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,617,604. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $11.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.42. Franklin Resources has a one year low of $18.83 and a one year high of $28.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $20.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.97.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.41% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.8% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 69,585 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the period. Hardy Reed LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 16,721 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,485 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,677 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. 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.