Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Lowers Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target to $19.00

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $20.00 to $19.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price target suggests a potential downside of 11.75% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on BEN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. 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. UBS Group cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

NYSE:BEN opened at $21.53 on Tuesday. Franklin Resources has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $30.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.25 and a 200 day moving average of $21.95. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $11.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.38.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. The business’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total value of $345,309.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total value of $345,309.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,596,245.49. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,769,890,529.28. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BEN. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth $27,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the first quarter valued at $32,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by 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.