Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on BEN. Barclays set a $31.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.56.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $31.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.55. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $21.10 and a 1-year high of $32.47. The company’s fifty day moving average is $28.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 1.87.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 214,576 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $4,963,000 after buying an additional 71,384 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 1,109.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 775,490 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $17,937,000 after buying an additional 711,347 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 368.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 53,633 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,241,000 after buying an additional 42,172 shares during the period. Prana Capital Management LP increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 135.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 860,762 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $19,909,000 after buying an additional 495,747 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 234.0% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 99,631 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,304,000 after purchasing an additional 69,802 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

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.