Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $26.08 and last traded at $26.0550, with a volume of 787521 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $25.63.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on BEN. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 14th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $24.64.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $23.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.93. The firm has a market cap of $13.61 billion, a PE ratio of 28.70, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.44. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The closed-end fund reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.12% and a net margin of 5.98%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 30th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 30th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. This is a boost from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 145.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 15,861 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 3,306 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,343 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 25,557 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 237.6% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 10,639 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 7,488 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

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.