Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Director Sells $2,167,500.00 in Stock

Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) Director David M. Wathen sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.70, for a total value of $2,167,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 74,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,450,653.40. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of FELE traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $86.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 267,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 208,241. The company has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day moving average of $88.71 and a 200 day moving average of $97.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.87 and a 1 year high of $111.94.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.06). Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.46% and a net margin of 8.92%. The business had revenue of $455.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $471.21 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 8th. Franklin Electric's payout ratio is presently 27.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FELE. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 237.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 87,620 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,184,000 after acquiring an additional 61,640 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Franklin Electric by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,305 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 347.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 25,030 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,439,000 after purchasing an additional 19,440 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 39.8% in the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 3,866 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Franklin Electric by 66.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 497 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Electric from $111.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th.

Franklin Electric Company Profile

Franklin Electric Co, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and distributes water and fuel pumping systems worldwide. The company operates through Water Systems, Fueling Systems, and Distribution segments. The Water Systems segment offers submersible motors, drives, pumps, electronic controls, water treatment systems, monitoring devices, and related parts and equipment.