Franklin Resources Insider Lowered Holding By 90% During Last Year

Insiders were net sellers of Franklin Resources, Inc.'s (NYSE:BEN ) stock during the past year. That is, insiders sold more stock than they bought.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

View our latest analysis for Franklin Resources

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Franklin Resources

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the insider, Alok Sethi, sold US$644k worth of shares at a price of US$29.27 per share. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$23.38. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price. Alok Sethi was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

Alok Sethi sold a total of 47.00k shares over the year at an average price of US$27.20. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Does Franklin Resources Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that Franklin Resources insiders own 40% of the company, worth about US$5.3b. 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 fact that there have been no Franklin Resources insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. While we feel good about high insider ownership of Franklin Resources, we can't say the same about the selling of shares. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Franklin Resources. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 2 warning signs with Franklin Resources and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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.