Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Shares Sold by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 31.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,564 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 15,532 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. owned about 0.08% of Franklin Electric worth $3,245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in FELE. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 168.5% in the 1st 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 during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. USA Financial Formulas grew its position in Franklin Electric by 50.0% during the first quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 900 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Electric by 60.7% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $127,000. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Electric Stock Down 0.8%

Franklin Electric stock traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $90.86. The company had a trading volume of 176,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 224,228. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.87 and a 12 month high of $111.94. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $88.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.18. The company has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a PE ratio of 23.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business 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%. The firm'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 firm earned $0.70 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Electric news, Director David M. Wathen sold 24,000 shares of Franklin Electric 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David M. Wathen sold 25,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director owned 24,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,046,000. The trade was a 51.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 99,402 shares of company stock valued at $8,529,908 in the last quarter. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.