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

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 856,041 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,650 shares during the quarter. 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. owned approximately 0.16% of Franklin Resources worth $20,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 10,471 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,392 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 102,708 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,376,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,343 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $30.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The company has a market capitalization of $16.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.56. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.50. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $21.06 and a one year high of $32.44.

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

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 29th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 29th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen upped 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. Finally, 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.