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

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

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. TD Cowen started coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.3 %

Franklin Resources stock opened at $22.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.99 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $26.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.35. Franklin Resources has a 52 week low of $21.88 and a 52 week high of $30.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 47.1% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 49,710 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,222,000 after purchasing an additional 15,914 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 65,325 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 8,216 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 443,545 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $10,902,000 after purchasing an additional 6,867 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 135,753 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $3,337,000 after purchasing an additional 29,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 27,592 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 3,354 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.