Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Sunday morning.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Franklin Resources in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $24.09.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $23.47 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $22.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $12.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.79, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.47. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $16.25 and a 1-year high of $26.08.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The closed-end fund reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 9.12%. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter worth approximately $13,878,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 82,895 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,703 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 9.4% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 123,280 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,373,000 after purchasing an additional 10,596 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 9.8% during the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 182,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $3,525,000 after purchasing an additional 16,331 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Franklin Resources by 62.9% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 382,426 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $7,363,000 after buying an additional 147,675 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.