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

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $18.00 to $19.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target suggests a potential downside of 7.27% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on BEN. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.50 to $22.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.66.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 2.6 %

Franklin Resources stock opened at $20.49 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $21.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.51. Franklin Resources has a twelve month low of $18.94 and a twelve month high of $30.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.83, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 51,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,229,020.11. This trade represents a 14.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,980 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,143 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 128,240 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,866,000 after purchasing an additional 16,347 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 7.6% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 455,735 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $10,186,000 after buying an additional 32,103 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.2% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,587 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 1,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wade Financial Advisory Inc purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $622,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.