Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Purchases 18,650 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 856,041 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,650 shares during the period. Franklin Resources accounts for 1.0% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $20,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $51,384,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 49.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,118,686 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $95,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,370,132 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 381.7% during the third quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,433,816 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136,174 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 167.5% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,494,817 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $34,575,000 after purchasing an additional 936,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 1,109.0% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 775,490 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $17,937,000 after purchasing an additional 711,347 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $30.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 1.87. The company has a market cap of $16.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.50. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.06 and a fifty-two week high of $32.44.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 8.12%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 29th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 100.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley raised Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays set a $31.00 price objective on Franklin Resources and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.56.

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.