TD Cowen Has Lowered Expectations for Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Stock Price

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at TD Cowen from $31.00 to $30.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 17.03% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on BEN. Barclays increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $24.36.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.4%

BEN stock traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.64. The company had a trading volume of 667,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,044,843. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40. Franklin Resources has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $26.08. The company has a market capitalization of $13.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.92.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The closed-end fund reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 9.12%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3,869.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. increased its position in Franklin Resources by 177.1% during the second quarter. Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. now owns 1,283 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources by 129.1% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.