The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Stock Price

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its target price increased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $19.00 to $21.50 in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.46.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN opened at $20.02 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a PE ratio of 30.79, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin Resources has a 52-week low of $16.25 and a 52-week high of $24.86.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Xponance Inc. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 43,687 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $886,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 8,789 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $177,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Hardy Reed LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 16,721 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,677 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. 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.