BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Stock Price

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $20.00 to $23.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price points to a potential upside of 10.47% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on BEN. StockNews.com upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $20.82 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.95. Franklin Resources has a 52 week low of $18.83 and a 52 week high of $28.61. The stock has a market cap of $10.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.03, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 254.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 561.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares in the last quarter. 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.