Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target Lowered to $25.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target points to a potential upside of 10.89% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on BEN. Bank of America raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $23.91.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE BEN traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $22.55. 2,579,552 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,450,177. The stock has a market cap of $11.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55. Franklin Resources has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $26.08. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.30.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The closed-end fund reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 31.2% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 518,381 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $11,990,000 after purchasing an additional 123,159 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $204,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 49.1% during the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 37,282 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $862,000 after acquiring an additional 12,285 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $998,000. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 95.3% in the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 63,800 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,476,000 after acquiring an additional 31,136 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by 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.