First Merchants Corp Has $22.55 Million Stock Holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

First Merchants Corp raised its holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 1.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 251,290 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,881 shares during the quarter. Franklin Electric accounts for approximately 0.9% of First Merchants Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. First Merchants Corp owned about 0.55% of Franklin Electric worth $22,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric during the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 731 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 900 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 42.2% during the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 913 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Electric

In other news, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 10,036 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.03, for a total value of $983,829.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $801,003.13. This trade represents a 55.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:FELE opened at $94.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.87 and a 12-month high of $111.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.48.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.03. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 8.71%.The business had revenue of $587.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $566.61 million. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.950-4.250 EPS. Analysts predict that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Electric declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to repurchase 1,200,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were given a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Franklin Electric from $94.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Franklin Electric in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.00.

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.

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