Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $38.81 Million Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,624,537 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,964 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $38,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $98,168,000. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $51,384,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 49.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,118,686 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $95,265,000 after buying an additional 1,370,132 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 381.7% in the 3rd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,433,816 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,164,000 after buying an additional 1,136,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 167.5% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,494,817 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $34,575,000 after buying an additional 936,105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.2%

BEN opened at $31.07 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 1.87. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.06 and a twelve month high of $32.44. The firm has a market cap of $16.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.72, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.55.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.16. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BEN shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.56.

Franklin Resources Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.