EULAV Asset Management Acquires 20,509 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

EULAV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 84.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,853 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,509 shares during the period. EULAV Asset Management owned 0.10% of Franklin Electric worth $4,211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Franklin Electric from $111.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David M. Wathen sold 25,402 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.22, for a total transaction of $2,164,758.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 49,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,175,780. This represents a 34.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David M. Wathen sold 24,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.10, for a total transaction of $2,066,400.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 99,402 shares of company stock valued at $8,529,908. Company insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

Franklin Electric stock traded down $1.66 on Monday, reaching $91.33. 170,567 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 223,602. The stock has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a PE ratio of 23.91, 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 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 price of $87.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.65.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $455.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

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

Franklin Electric declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to buyback 1,200,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.