Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $37.00 to $40.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Franklin Resources traded as high as $34.26 and last traded at $34.19, with a volume of 336052 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.05.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on BEN. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Barclays set a $31.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prana Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 135.8% in the third quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 860,762 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $19,909,000 after purchasing an additional 495,747 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,101,000 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $48,596,000 after buying an additional 554,842 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 234.0% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 99,631 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,304,000 after buying an additional 69,802 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,065,908 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $232,833,000 after buying an additional 553,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 413.8% in the fourth quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund now owns 66,800 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,596,000 after acquiring an additional 53,800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $30.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market cap of $17.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.79, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.55.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 10.58%. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 29th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 100.76%.

About Franklin Resources

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.