Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Shares Acquired by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted 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 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,045,534 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 11,715 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 4.47% of Franklin Electric worth $194,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $661,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Franklin Electric by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 392,080 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $38,208,000 after buying an additional 53,825 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Franklin Electric by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,587 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,104,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter worth $134,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Franklin Electric Trading Up 2.3%

Franklin Electric stock traded up $2.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $91.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 196,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 222,901. The stock's fifty day moving average is $87.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 24.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.08. 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 released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $455.25 million for 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to buyback 1,200,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are 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. 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 presently 27.75%.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Electric

In other news, Director David M. Wathen sold 24,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David M. Wathen sold 25,000 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director directly owned 24,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,046,000. The trade was a 51.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Company insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Electric from $111.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report 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.

About Franklin Electric

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.