JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target to $19.00

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price objective lowered by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective points to a potential downside of 2.84% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on BEN. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $22.50 to $20.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.18.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $19.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a PE ratio of 22.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.41. 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 50-day moving average price of $21.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.17. Franklin Resources has a twelve month low of $18.83 and a twelve month high of $28.61.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 50.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 97,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,189,000 after purchasing an additional 32,904 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $71,171,000 after buying an additional 54,063 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 2.5% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 83,401 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,864,000 after buying an additional 2,059 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 57.1% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 870,318 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $19,432,000 after acquiring an additional 316,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Altrius Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 21.5% during the second quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 176,306 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $3,940,000 after acquiring an additional 31,186 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.