Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target to $19.50

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $19.00 to $19.50 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the closed-end fund's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target indicates a potential downside of 6.92% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on BEN. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $19.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 3.9 %

BEN stock traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $20.95. The company had a trading volume of 5,521,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,054,439. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. The company has a market capitalization of $10.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.96. Franklin Resources has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. Franklin Resources's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 65,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,891,341.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,891,341.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. Company insiders own 24.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Verus Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 65.2% in the third quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 31,898 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 12,592 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 806,901 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $16,259,000 after acquiring an additional 11,371 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 14.2% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 21,675 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 2,689 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 21.9% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 51,500 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 9,247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.9% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 100,834 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $2,032,000 after acquiring an additional 6,524 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 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.