Bank of America Merrill Lynch Reports on Franklin Resources

Bank of America Merrill Lynch commented on Franklin Resources BEN in a report released today. In the report, Bank of America Merrill Lynch was positive in its assessment. Bank of America Merrill Lynch writes, "We are raising BEN to Buy from Neutral on a combination of 1) valuation; 2) better equity performance; 3) improving industry flows to fixed income; and 4) better QTD performance vs. peers. Longer term BEN continues to have among the best global footprints in asset management, in our view, with offices in over 30 countries and about 1/3 of its client assets overseas, where organic growth is likely to remain faster. We are also raising our PO to $156 from $141." Bank of America Merrill Lynch currently has a Buy rating on Franklin Resources and a price objective of $156.