Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) PT Raised to $25.00

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $24.00 to $25.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underweight" rating on the closed-end fund's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price points to a potential downside of 0.08% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BEN. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Franklin Resources from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.50.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock traded up $0.21 on Wednesday, hitting $25.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,018,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,434,225. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. Franklin Resources has a 1 year low of $21.88 and a 1 year high of $30.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $27.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.27. The company has a market capitalization of $13.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.40.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.07. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.15% and a net margin of 12.30%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. West Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.5% during the first quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 49,380 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.2% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 87,595 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $2,462,000 after buying an additional 5,100 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 220.7% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 59,616 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,676,000 after buying an additional 41,024 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 292.1% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,643 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 1,969 shares during the period. Finally, Griffin Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% during the first quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,365 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 725 shares during the period. 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.