Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys Shares of 166,626 Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 166,626 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $3,415,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $436,000. Unison Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 107,847 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $2,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,863,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 910,234 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $18,469,000 after purchasing an additional 12,940 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:BEN traded up $0.17 on Tuesday, reaching $18.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 710,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,342,642. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $25.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $19.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.35. The firm has a market cap of $9.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.02%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 196.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on BEN. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.38.

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.