Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Short Interest Update

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) saw a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 26,460,000 shares, a growth of 12.7% from the August 15th total of 23,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,400,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.0 days. Currently, 9.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 200,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $22.80 per share, with a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 88,703,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,022,432,777.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 431,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,097,637 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,008,853,000 after purchasing an additional 3,592,943 shares in the last quarter. Power Corp of Canada boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% during the 1st quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $887,071,000 after purchasing an additional 31,385,293 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 26,652,644 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $793,983,000 after buying an additional 4,043,808 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.5% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $158,582,000 after acquiring an additional 676,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $71,171,000 after buying an additional 54,063 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE BEN traded up $0.12 on Monday, reaching $20.02. 1,598,587 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,946,719. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $21.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Franklin Resources has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.00.

About Franklin Resources

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.