Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Given New $36.00 Price Target at Barclays

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Barclays from $34.00 to $36.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Barclays‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 0.61% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Zacks Research downgraded Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.11.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:BEN traded up $2.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $35.78. 521,168 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,692,212. Franklin Resources has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $36.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.56.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 6th. The closed-end fund reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.17. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 11.42% and a return on equity of 12.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 3.20 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BEN. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth approximately $961,845,000. Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $229,850,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $152,692,000. Kopernik Global Investors LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 4.6% during the first quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 3,522,587 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $83,204,000 after buying an additional 153,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 37.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,964,424 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $46,400,000 after buying an additional 533,192 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc is a global investment management company that operates under the Franklin Templeton name. It offers investment products and services to individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and other clients, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and separately managed accounts.

The company invests across a range of asset classes and strategies, including equities, fixed income, multi-asset portfolios and alternative investments. Its services also include retirement solutions and wealth management.

Founded in 1947, Franklin Resources has grown through acquisitions, including its 2020 acquisition of Legg Mason.