Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target Lowered to $19.00 at Morgan Stanley

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price objective dropped by Morgan Stanley from $21.00 to $19.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 8.03% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on BEN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.73.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $20.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Franklin Resources has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $30.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $20.47 and its 200 day moving average is $22.53. The company has a market cap of $10.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,544,055. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 65,862 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,341.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 18,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,544,055. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,008,853,000 after acquiring an additional 3,592,943 shares during the period. Power Corp of Canada lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% during the 1st quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $887,071,000 after acquiring an additional 31,385,293 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $158,582,000 after acquiring an additional 676,760 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $71,171,000 after acquiring an additional 54,063 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 250.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $54,664,000 after acquiring an additional 1,751,587 shares during the period. 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.