Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $32.55 and last traded at $32.6660, with a volume of 1842 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $32.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.00.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market cap of $16.86 billion, a PE ratio of 24.78, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.52.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.16. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 29th will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 277.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 129.1% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.