Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Given New $17.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its target price cut by stock analysts at Bank of America from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underperform” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price points to a potential downside of 2.78% from the company’s previous close.

BEN has been the topic of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Five 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.54.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 2.6 %

Franklin Resources stock opened at $17.49 on Thursday. Franklin Resources has a 12-month low of $17.19 and a 12-month high of $27.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.19 billion, a PE ratio of 26.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.52.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BEN. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,809 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $765,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,373 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $432,730,000 after buying an additional 599,045 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,721,446 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $237,828,000 after buying an additional 1,011,755 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,403,875 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $190,805,000 after acquiring an additional 1,542,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources by 6.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $147,312,000 after acquiring an additional 422,688 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.