Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 21,820,000 shares, a growth of 14.8% from the July 15th total of 19,000,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,650,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.0 days. Approximately 7.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.90.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $22.76. 3,197,662 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,696,125. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $22.56 and a 200 day moving average of $24.65. Franklin Resources has a 1 year low of $20.92 and a 1 year high of $30.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.71.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly 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. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 70.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 200,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 $2,022,432,777.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BEN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,008,853,000 after purchasing an additional 3,592,943 shares during the last quarter. Power Corp of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% in the first quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $887,071,000 after buying an additional 31,385,293 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 26,652,644 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $793,983,000 after acquiring an additional 4,043,808 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $158,582,000 after purchasing an additional 676,760 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $71,171,000 after acquiring an additional 54,063 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

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.