Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Stock Price

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price objective hoisted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $18.00 to $19.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential downside of 8.79% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on BEN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $19.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.66.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock traded up $0.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $20.83. The company had a trading volume of 2,223,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,008,699. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.55. The company has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total transaction of $369,923.23. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 51,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,020.11. This trade represents a 14.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375 in the last ninety days. 24.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth $880,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth about $1,857,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,192 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $7,681,000 after buying an additional 32,490 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after buying an additional 925,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 78.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 62,076 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,251,000 after acquiring an additional 27,259 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

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.