Charles Johnson Of Franklin Resources Just Spent US$1.1m On A Handful Of Shares

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that insider Charles Johnson recently bought a whopping US$1.1m worth of stock, at a price of US$21.49. While that only increased their holding size by 0.05%, it is still a big swing by our standards.

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Franklin Resources Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent purchase by insider Charles Johnson was not their only acquisition of Franklin Resources shares this year. They previously made an even bigger purchase of US$2.0m worth of shares at a price of US$19.57 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (US$22.03), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

Charles Johnson purchased 200.42k shares over the year. The average price per share was US$20.45. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

See our latest analysis for Franklin Resources

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Franklin Resources insiders own about US$4.7b worth of shares (which is 42% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Do The Franklin Resources Insider Transactions Indicate?

The recent insider purchase is heartening. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. Once you factor in the high insider ownership, it certainly seems like insiders are positive about Franklin Resources. One for the watchlist, at least! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. You'd be interested to know, that we found 2 warning signs for Franklin Resources and we suggest you have a look.

Of course Franklin Resources may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.