Franklin Resources Inc. Buys New Position in JOYY Inc. (NASDAQ:YY)

Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in JOYY Inc. (NASDAQ:YY) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,645 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $445,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in YY. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in JOYY in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of JOYY by 71.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of JOYY by 63.0% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,319 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of JOYY during the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in JOYY by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,672 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on YY. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of JOYY in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Benchmark upgraded JOYY from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th.

JOYY Stock Performance

Shares of JOYY stock opened at $40.26 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $44.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.69. JOYY Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.88 and a 52-week high of $55.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.21.

JOYY Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.93 dividend. This is a boost from JOYY’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.24%. JOYY’s payout ratio is presently -120.00%.

About JOYY

JOYY Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates social media platforms that offer users engaging and experience across various video-based social platforms. It operates through two segments, BIGO and All Other. The company operates Bigo Live, a social live streaming platform, that provides an interactive online stage for users to host and watch live streaming sessions, share their life moments, showcase their talents, and interact with people worldwide; Likee, a short-form video social platform, which enables users to discover, create, and share short videos, with video creation tools and personalized feeds; imo, an instant messenger platform, that provides audio and video communication services; Hago, a social networking platform that offers casual games integrating social features, such as audio and video multi-user chatrooms and 3D virtual interactive party games; and Shopline, a smart commerce platform, that provides solutions and services to enable merchants in creating and growing their brands online and reach customers through various sales channels, including e-commerce platforms, social commerce, and physical retail stores.