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

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 714,956 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 41,372 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.14% of Franklin Resources worth $14,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,809 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $765,254,000 after buying an additional 1,095,373 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $432,730,000 after acquiring an additional 599,045 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $147,312,000 after purchasing an additional 422,688 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $75,928,000 after purchasing an additional 1,449,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Franklin Resources by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,097,979 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $62,858,000 after purchasing an additional 99,405 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BEN. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE:BEN opened at $19.28 on Tuesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.74 and a 52 week high of $28.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $20.14 and its 200-day moving average is $20.57. The firm has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.64%. The ex-dividend date 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.