Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Stock

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $31.00 to $34.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 3.71% from the company’s previous close.

BEN has been the topic of several other research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.67.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Franklin Resources stock opened at $32.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $17.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.55. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $21.10 and a 1-year high of $34.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $30.80 and a 200-day moving average of $27.18.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 8.12%.Franklin Resources’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 148,049 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,850,000 after buying an additional 30,763 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 169.3% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,909 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $152,000 after acquiring an additional 4,972 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 41.1% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,189 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 7,634 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth about $169,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 509,171 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $12,144,000 after purchasing an additional 174,579 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.