Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Invests $18.08 Million in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 543,359 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $18,078,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 277.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,150 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the period. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BEN. Weiss Ratings upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 14th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.44.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Franklin Resources stock opened at $34.04 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $36.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market cap of $17.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $33.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.69.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Company 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.