Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.20.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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, November 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Barclays lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. This represents a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total value of $369,923.23. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 51,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,020.11. This represents a 14.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375 in the last ninety days. 24.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 254.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE BEN opened at $22.76 on Friday. Franklin Resources has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $30.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.47, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $20.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.70.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

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.