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

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 27,480,000 shares, a decline of 15.4% from the October 15th total of 32,500,000 shares. Currently, 9.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,760,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $336,142.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 65,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,341.80. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,769,890,529.28. The trade was a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of BEN traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $21.80. 3,991,267 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,023,015. The company has a market cap of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.38. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $20.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 144.19%.

Franklin Resources Company 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.