Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Short Interest Up 12.7% in August

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) saw a large 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. Currently, 9.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,400,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 18,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. The purchase 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 that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.80 per share, for a total transaction of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 88,703,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,022,432,777.60. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 18,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,055. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 431,600 shares of company stock worth $9,097,637. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.4% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,652 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 22,082 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $621,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Interval Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 108,894 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,434,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,020 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 0.7% during the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 88,195 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,971,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BEN shares. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.00.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of BEN opened at $20.35 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.59. 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 has a market capitalization of $10.71 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.09%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.86%.

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.