Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Short Interest Up 6.2% in September

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 29,470,000 shares, a growth of 6.2% from the September 15th total of 27,760,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,640,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.4 days. Approximately 10.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.6 %

BEN stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $20.67. 2,600,719 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,992,063. The company has a market cap of $10.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.54.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 70.86%.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,341.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 65,862 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,341.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 in the last 90 days. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter worth approximately $710,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter worth about $1,538,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 583.8% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 199,225 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $5,600,000 after purchasing an additional 170,089 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 46.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 278,268 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $7,758,000 after buying an additional 88,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 4.3% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 102,385 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,320,000 after buying an additional 4,248 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BEN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.33.

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.