Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $14.59 Million Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 714,956 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 41,372 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $14,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 43,687 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $886,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Hardy Reed LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 16,721 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,485 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of BEN stock opened at $19.28 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.65, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50 day moving average of $20.14 and a 200-day moving average of $20.57. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.74 and a 12-month high of $28.08.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

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

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.