Alps Advisors Inc. Increases Holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 7.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,128 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,838 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. owned about 0.18% of Franklin Electric worth $7,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FELE. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $56,968,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Franklin Electric by 13,673.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 192,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $18,076,000 after buying an additional 191,150 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $134,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 60.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 247,098 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $24,080,000 after purchasing an additional 92,793 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,046,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FELE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Franklin Electric from $111.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th.

Franklin Electric Trading Down 1.6%

FELE stock traded down $1.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $91.60. The company had a trading volume of 139,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 223,748. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a one year low of $78.87 and a one year high of $111.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $88.16 and a 200-day moving average of $93.47. The stock has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.98, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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). 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 firm's revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 8th. Franklin Electric's payout ratio is presently 27.75%.

Franklin Electric declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Franklin Electric

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

Franklin Electric 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.