Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Receives $29.56 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $29.5556.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BEN. Evercore reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $21.00 to $31.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.8%

BEN stock opened at $32.30 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.66, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.20. Franklin Resources has a 52 week low of $21.06 and a 52 week high of $32.44.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 8.12%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 277.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,150 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 129.1% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 740 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, 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.