Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $32.96 Million Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 14.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,635,491 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 212,422 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $32,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 254.4% during the 3rd 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 during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:BEN opened at $22.31 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The company has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.94, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $21.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.62.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 148.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total value of $345,309.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. This represents a 17.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. The trade was a 0.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375 over the last three months. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.39.

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.