Franklin Templeton CFO Matthew Nicholls Sells 61,533 Shares to Cover Taxes

What Happened

• Matthew Nicholls, Co‑President, Chief Financial Officer & COO of Franklin Templeton (BEN), had 61,533 shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity. The shares were valued at $34.15 each, totaling approximately $2,101,352. This transaction is reported under withholding/tax payment (code F).

Key Details

• Transaction date: 2026-08-31; Form 4 filed: 2026-09-02 (appears timely).
• Price per share: $34.15; shares withheld/disposed: 61,533; total value ≈ $2,101,352.
• Footnote F1: Withholding of shares to pay tax liability incident to vesting (Rule 16b-3).
• Footnote F2: Form notes 339,611 of the reported beneficially owned shares are unvested restricted stock units (RSUs).
• Transaction code: F (tax withholding), not an open‑market sale (routine administrative action).

Context

• This was a tax‑withholding event tied to vesting (a common, administrative use of shares to cover taxes) rather than an indicative discretionary sale; such withholdings do not necessarily signal the insider’s view on the company’s stock.