Franklin Universal Trust (NYSE:FT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Franklin Universal Trust (NYSE:FT) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 29,853 shares, a growth of 75.4% from the March 15th total of 17,023 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 35,379 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Universal Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Universal Trust by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 1,686 shares during the last quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Universal Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $899,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Universal Trust by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 108,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 10,297 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Universal Trust by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 109,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $878,000 after purchasing an additional 3,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Universal Trust by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 689,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,512,000 after purchasing an additional 259,603 shares during the last quarter.

Franklin Universal Trust Stock Up 0.4%

FT opened at $8.27 on Wednesday. Franklin Universal Trust has a twelve month low of $7.11 and a twelve month high of $8.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.07.

Franklin Universal Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.0425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%.

About Franklin Universal Trust

Franklin Universal Trust (NYSE: FT) is a closed-end management investment company organized under Maryland law and managed by Franklin Templeton. The trust seeks to provide a high level of current income with a secondary objective of capital appreciation. It issues common shares that trade on the New York Stock Exchange, offering investors access to a diversified portfolio of income-oriented credit instruments.

The fund’s core strategy focuses on senior secured floating-rate bank loans, which typically adjust their interest rates in line with market benchmarks.