Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Given New $19.50 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $19.00 to $19.50 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential downside of 6.30% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.70.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN stock traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $20.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,998,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,041,999. The stock has a market cap of $10.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $20.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.99. Franklin Resources has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 12,700 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at $51,857,182. 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 the SEC website. In other news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 12,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,857,182. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,544,055. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.