Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $34.67 and last traded at $34.45, with a volume of 3330046 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Zacks Research raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Barclays set a $31.00 price objective on Franklin Resources and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.67.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 2.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.41 billion, a PE ratio of 25.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.54. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $32.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.84.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 277.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,150 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.