Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore restated an “underperform” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley raised Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays set a $31.00 price target on Franklin Resources and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.33.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of BEN stock opened at $33.79 on Monday. Franklin Resources has a 1 year low of $21.10 and a 1 year high of $34.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

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

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BEN. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Franklin Resources by 26.2% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 148,049 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,850,000 after purchasing an additional 30,763 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in 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 worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 4,972 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 7,634 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $169,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $12,144,000 after purchasing an additional 174,579 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.