Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $41.12 Million Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 23.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,026,650 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 391,159 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.39% of Franklin Resources worth $41,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 254.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 561.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on BEN. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 2.9 %

BEN stock opened at $19.27 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.83 and a twelve month high of $28.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $10.12 billion, a PE ratio of 29.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.56.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 196.92%.

About Franklin Resources

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.