Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $34.52 and last traded at $34.3260, with a volume of 1457254 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Evercore reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, June 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.67.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.2%

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 company has a market capitalization of $17.69 billion, a PE ratio of 25.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.45 and a 200 day moving average of $27.54.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 8.12%.Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.79 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 277.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,150 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 129.1% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the period. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

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.