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

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in 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. Currently, 9.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,760,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,341.80. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 89,208,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,769,890,529.28. This represents a 0.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, 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 corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 11.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,008,853,000 after acquiring an additional 3,592,943 shares during the period. Power Corp of Canada grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% in the 1st quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $887,071,000 after purchasing an additional 31,385,293 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $432,730,000 after buying an additional 599,045 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $147,312,000 after buying an additional 422,688 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $158,582,000 after buying an additional 676,760 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.67. 3,345,112 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,023,037. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The stock has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $20.47 and its 200 day moving average is $21.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.39.

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

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.