Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target Lowered to $15.00 at Morgan Stanley

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $18.00 to $15.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential downside of 9.61% from the company’s current price.

BEN has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.21.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 5.2 %

Shares of Franklin Resources stock traded down $0.92 during trading on Monday, hitting $16.59. The stock had a trading volume of 3,573,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,265,582. Franklin Resources has a 12 month low of $16.37 and a 12 month high of $27.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.53. The stock has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a PE ratio of 25.56, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth $880,000. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 159,738 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $3,241,000 after acquiring an additional 27,169 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $432,730,000 after buying an additional 599,045 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 93,789 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,903,000 after purchasing an additional 24,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 263.1% in 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 buying an additional 1,465,148 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.