TD Cowen Has Lowered Expectations for Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Stock Price

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price objective dropped by equities researchers at TD Cowen from $20.00 to $18.50 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target points to a potential downside of 14.07% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports 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 research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on 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. 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN opened at $21.53 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. The company has a market cap of $11.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $20.25 and a 200-day moving average of $21.95. Franklin Resources has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its 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 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 12,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,857,182. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the first quarter worth about $710,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,538,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 583.8% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 199,225 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $5,600,000 after acquiring an additional 170,089 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in Franklin Resources by 46.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 278,268 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $7,758,000 after acquiring an additional 88,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 102,385 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,320,000 after purchasing an additional 4,248 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.