Nomura Securities Maintains a 'Neutral' on Franklin Resources (BEN); F4Q11 Review

Nomura Securities maintains a 'Neutral' on Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) price target upped to $116.00.

Nomura analyst, Glenn Schorr, said, "Overall a good quarter with modest net inflows, improving op. margins, positive op. leverage, and 3.1M share buyback (nice to see BEN aggressive with low stock price with 94% dividend payout + stock buyback ratio this qtr). The “miss” was driven mostly from other income and non-controlling interests (net $68.4M or ~$0.31/share) due to unrealized mark-to-market investment losses. Investment mgmt fees (+2% q/q), partly driven by Darby performance fees, held relatively steady owing to a diversified business mix. We raise our 2012/13 estimates and PT to $116 (13x our 2012E of $8.93) on better than expected flows and October market performance."

For more ratings news on Franklin Resources click here and for the rating history of Franklin Resources click here.

Shares of Franklin Resources closed at $108.24 yesterday.

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