Allianz Asset Management GmbH Purchases 22,303 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 833,985 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,303 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned about 1.82% of Franklin Electric worth $78,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FELE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Franklin Electric by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,769,582 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $464,796,000 after purchasing an additional 45,174 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 0.6% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,045,534 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $194,551,000 after purchasing an additional 11,715 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,968,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Franklin Electric by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 513,896 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $50,079,000 after buying an additional 50,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in Franklin Electric by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 430,213 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $41,924,000 after buying an additional 51,137 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Franklin Electric Trading Up 0.2%

Franklin Electric stock traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $92.46. The company had a trading volume of 32,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 266,784. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $88.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.07. The firm has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.07. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.87 and a 12-month high of $111.94.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $455.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $471.21 million. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.08% and a net margin of 8.85%. Franklin Electric's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were issued a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 8th. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.75%.

Franklin Electric announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase 1,200,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on 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 Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Electric

In other Franklin Electric news, Director David M. Wathen sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.10, for a total value of $2,066,400.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David M. Wathen sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.25, for a total value of $2,131,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,046,000. This represents a 51.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 99,402 shares of company stock worth $8,529,908 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

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.