Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) reached a new 52-week high after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its price target from $22.00 to $29.00, while maintaining a neutral rating. Several brokerages, including TD Cowen and Goldman Sachs Group, have upgraded their ratings for Franklin Resources, with a consensus target price currently at $23.42. The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32, representing an annualized yield of 5.1%, alongside a significant dividend payout ratio of 250.98%. Franklin Resources traded as high as $25.38 and last traded at $24.98, with a volume of 398,183 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $25.13.\n\nEvercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an 'underperform' rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an 'equal weight' rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $14.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an 'underweight' rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a 'neutral' rating to a 'buy' rating and set a $29.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays reissued an 'underweight' rating and set a $23.00 price target (up previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of 'Hold' and a consensus price target of $23.42.\n\nSeveral institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 147.1% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 350.4% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 49.9% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 39.4% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.\n\nFranklin Resources has a market capitalization of $12.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $23.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.23. The firm last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 8.76%. Franklin Resources's revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.\n\nThe business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 250.98%. 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.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) reached a new 52-week high following a series of analyst upgrades, including price target increases from JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Wells Fargo. The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.49 per share, exceeding estimates of $0.46, with revenue of $2.06 billion, down 2.2% year-over-year. It declared a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 5.1% and a dividend payout ratio of 250.98%. The stock traded as high as $25.38 and closed at $24.98. Institutional investors including CoreCap Advisors, GeoWealth Management, Manchester Capital, Contravisory, and Signaturefd LLC have increased their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources has a market capitalization of $12.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.00, and a current ratio of 1.55. Analysts anticipate 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.