Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Stock

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $18.00 to $19.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 7.27% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on BEN. StockNews.com upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.66.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of BEN stock opened at $20.49 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $21.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.51. The firm has a market cap of $10.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total value of $369,923.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 51,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,020.11. This represents a 14.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 250.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,751,587 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 517.5% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,406,324 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $31,431,000 after buying an additional 1,178,594 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after acquiring an additional 925,590 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 110.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,623,236 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $36,279,000 after acquiring an additional 851,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 325.1% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 906,270 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $20,255,000 after acquiring an additional 693,074 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.