Comerica Bank Has $1.66 Million Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Comerica Bank raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,967 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,627 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BEN shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.46.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $19.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.20. The firm has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a PE ratio of 32.22, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

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.