Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Short Interest Update

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 21,870,000 shares, a growth of 7.0% from the March 15th total of 20,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,360,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.5 days. Currently, 7.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cooper Financial Group increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 14,682 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.4% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,652 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,129 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,622 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.4% in the third quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,974 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $24.81 on Thursday. Franklin Resources has a 52-week low of $21.88 and a 52-week high of $30.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The company has a market capitalization of $13.06 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.07. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 11.15%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.00%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.39.

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.