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

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $31.45 and last traded at $31.4740, with a volume of 1470435 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays set a $31.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.56.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.6%

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 stock has a market capitalization of $16.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.89.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 277.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.