Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) to Issue $0.32 Quarterly Dividend

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 4th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of 0.32 per share by the closed-end fund on Friday, April 11th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.15%.

Franklin Resources has raised its dividend by an average of 3.4% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 28 consecutive years. Franklin Resources has a dividend payout ratio of 53.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Franklin Resources to earn $2.37 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 54.0%.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE BEN traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $20.82. 5,523,201 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,951,978. The company’s 50-day moving average is $20.82 and its 200-day moving average is $20.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.03, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.42. Franklin Resources has a 52-week low of $18.83 and a 52-week high of $28.61.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.41%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on BEN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.86.

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.