Comerica Bank Buys 7,627 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Comerica Bank grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 81,967 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,627 shares during the period. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources by 350.4% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 561.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,677 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN stock opened at $20.94 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $24.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a PE ratio of 32.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. Franklin Resources’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on BEN shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.46.

Franklin Resources 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.