Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN – Get Free Report) 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 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.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Franklin Resources
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.
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