BNP Paribas Financial Markets Cuts Stock Position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its stake in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 49.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,643 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 19,384 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $1,914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Electric by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 33,918 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,305,000 after buying an additional 6,177 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter worth $801,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter worth $357,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter worth $127,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Franklin Electric by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 513,896 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $50,079,000 after buying an additional 50,750 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 961 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.14, for a total value of $99,117.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,701 shares of the company's stock, valued at $794,281.14. This represents a 11.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FELE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective 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 1.9%

Shares of Franklin Electric stock traded down $1.63 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $84.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 181,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 207,327. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.87 and a twelve month high of $111.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $89.93 and a 200-day moving average of $97.87. The stock has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 2.22.

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

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 8th. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.75%.

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.