Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

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

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Franklin Resources stock traded up $0.09 on Friday, reaching $21.67. 3,345,112 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,023,037. Franklin Resources has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.80.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.72%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 144.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,769,890,529.28. This trade represents a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 65,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,341.80. This represents a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. Company insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter worth $32,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.20.

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.