Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Stock Price

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its target price lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $22.50 to $20.50 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 4.38% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on BEN. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.55.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $19.64 on Tuesday. Franklin Resources has a 1 year low of $18.83 and a 1 year high of $28.61. The company has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $21.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.21. 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 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). The company 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 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. Analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total value of $345,309.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. This represents a 17.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 250.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $54,664,000 after acquiring an additional 1,751,587 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Franklin Resources by 263.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465,148 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 517.5% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,406,324 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $31,431,000 after purchasing 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 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 110.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,623,236 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,279,000 after purchasing an additional 851,442 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

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.