Wells Fargo & Company Initiates Coverage on Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN)

Investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Briefing.com reports. The firm set an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price target on the closed-end fund’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 2.88% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $19.44 on Thursday. Franklin Resources has a 12 month low of $18.94 and a 12 month high of $30.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. Research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 200,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.80 per share, for a total transaction of $4,560,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 88,703,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,022,432,777.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 12,700 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,857,182. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 200,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.80 per share, for a total transaction of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 88,703,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,022,432,777.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 331,600 shares of company stock valued at $7,189,637 in the last ninety days. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,652 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Verity Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,129 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 22,082 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Interval Partners LP raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 108,894 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,434,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 17,500 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Franklin Resources

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.