Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 18.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 513,051 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 80,135 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $11,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,652 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 2.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 22,082 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $621,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,020 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 88,195 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gold Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 26,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.80 per share, with a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,703,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,022,432,777.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 18,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,055. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $22.80 per share, with a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,703,192 shares in the company, valued at $2,022,432,777.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 431,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,097,637. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $20.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.59. The stock has a market cap of $10.71 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.09%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEN has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays initiated coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.00.

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.