Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Franklin Resources has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold", based on 11 ratings: two sell, five hold, and four buy. The average 1-year price target is about $29.56.
• The stock has been the subject of multiple recent analyst target-price increases, including upgrades or higher targets from Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, and Weiss Ratings.
• Franklin Resources reported better-than-expected quarterly results, earning $0.71 per share versus $0.55 expected, while revenue rose 8.7% year over year to $1.75 billion.

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.5556.

BEN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised Franklin Resources from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays set a $31.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.7%

BEN opened at $31.03 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.68, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Franklin Resources has a one year low of $20.86 and a one year high of $31.44.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.16. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 8.12%.The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 26.2% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 148,049 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $2,850,000 after purchasing an additional 30,763 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 169.3% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,909 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 4,972 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 41.1% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,189 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 7,634 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at $169,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 509,171 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $12,144,000 after buying an additional 174,579 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm's core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton's product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.

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