Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Raises Dividend to $0.33 Per Share

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 30th will be given a dividend of 0.33 per share by the closed-end fund on Friday, January 9th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 30th. This is a 3.1% increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32.

Franklin Resources has raised its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 45 years. Franklin Resources has a dividend payout ratio of 56.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Franklin Resources to earn $2.42 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 52.9%.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $24.33. 901,139 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,403,017. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.71 and a 200 day moving average of $23.63. Franklin Resources has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $26.08. The company has a market cap of $12.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The closed-end fund reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 9.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Zacks Research cut Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $24.09.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides its services to individuals, institutions, pension plans, trusts, and partnerships. It launches equity, fixed income, balanced, and multi-asset mutual funds through its subsidiaries.