Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Stock Price

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $18.00 to $19.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "underweight" rating on the closed-end fund's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price would indicate a potential downside of 7.27% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. TD Cowen cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.66.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,415,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,038,254. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $21.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.55. Franklin Resources has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.83, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total value of $369,923.23. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 51,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,229,020.11. The trade was a 14.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375 over the last 90 days. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BEN. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $432,730,000 after buying an additional 599,045 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 6.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $147,312,000 after acquiring an additional 422,688 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.5% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $158,582,000 after purchasing an additional 676,760 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $71,171,000 after purchasing an additional 54,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

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.