Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,622 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 446 shares during the quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 148.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 65,100 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,939,000 after buying an additional 38,919 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,491,598 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $44,435,000 after buying an additional 144,843 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 53.6% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,188,199 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $35,396,000 after buying an additional 414,826 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 966,212 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $23,749,000 after purchasing an additional 110,806 shares during the period. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 14,873 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $24.99 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $13.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.88 and a 12 month high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.07. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.15% and a net margin of 12.30%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.96%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 65.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BEN. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. TD Cowen began coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.50.

Franklin Resources 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.