Short Interest in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Declines By 9.2%

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 26,170,000 shares, a decline of 9.2% from the November 15th total of 28,820,000 shares. Currently, 9.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group decreased 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 report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.66.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of BEN traded down $0.13 on Friday, reaching $21.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,497,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,020,594. Franklin Resources has a twelve month low of $18.94 and a twelve month high of $30.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a PE ratio of 25.55, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $21.30 and a 200-day moving average of $21.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Franklin Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.83%. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is 148.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total value of $369,923.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 51,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,020.11. This represents a 14.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375 in the last quarter. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BEN. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.3% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 102,385 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $2,320,000 after purchasing an additional 4,248 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $1,857,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $880,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,192 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $7,681,000 after acquiring an additional 32,490 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

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.

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