Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Acquires 11,715 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,045,534 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,715 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 4.47% of Franklin Electric worth $194,551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Franklin Electric by 10.6% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,815 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Franklin Electric by 168.5% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Franklin Electric by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 503,775 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $49,093,000 after purchasing an additional 10,580 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new position in Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in Franklin Electric by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FELE traded down $1.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $90.31. 1,367,215 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 223,005. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $87.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.98. The stock has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.64, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.08. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a one year low of $78.87 and a one year high of $111.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

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

Franklin Electric announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to repurchase 1,200,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Franklin Electric's payout ratio is presently 27.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David M. Wathen sold 24,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.10, for a total value of $2,066,400.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David M. Wathen sold 25,402 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.22, for a total transaction of $2,164,758.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,175,780. This represents a 34.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 99,402 shares of company stock valued at $8,529,908. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on FELE. Robert W. Baird lowered 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 report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research 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.