Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Acquires 80,135 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor 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. owned approximately 0.10% of Franklin Resources worth $11,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $20.35 on Wednesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.94 and a twelve month high of $30.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $10.71 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $21.60 and its 200 day moving average is $23.59.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders 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 (DPR) is presently 70.86%.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BEN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

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.