Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) shares reached a new 52-week high 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.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on BEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays set a $31.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 26.2% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 148,049 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,850,000 after buying an additional 30,763 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 169.3% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,909 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 4,972 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 41.1% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,189 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 7,634 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $169,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 509,171 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $12,144,000 after buying an additional 174,579 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $17.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $30.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 29th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 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.