Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Invests $15.46 Million in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 464,812 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $15,464,000. Franklin Resources accounts for about 0.7% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 26.2% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 148,049 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,850,000 after buying an additional 30,763 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 169.3% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,909 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 4,972 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 41.1% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,189 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $504,000 after acquiring an additional 7,634 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $169,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 509,171 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $12,144,000 after acquiring an additional 174,579 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BEN shares. Weiss Ratings raised Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.44.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of BEN opened at $34.32 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $36.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.35, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.74.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 8.72%.The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Franklin Resources

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.