Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Evercore reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.00.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $33.05 on Friday. Franklin Resources has a 1 year low of $21.10 and a 1 year high of $36.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $33.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.67. The company has a market capitalization of $16.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.54.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 8.72%.The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,392 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 39.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,837 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 524 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, operating under the Franklin Templeton name, is a global investment management organization. The company provides investment solutions for individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and retirement plans through a broad range of strategies and investment vehicles.

Its offerings include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional mandates and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton manages strategies across equities, fixed income, multi-asset portfolios, alternatives and other specialized areas, while also providing investment research, portfolio management and wealth-management services.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.