Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE Shares Bought by Vest Financial LLC

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Franklin Electric by 34.9%, owning 42,930 shares valued at approximately $3.85 million following an acquisition of 11,109 shares in the second quarter.
• Insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 10,036 shares of Franklin Electric for nearly $984,000, reducing their ownership by over 55%.
• Equities analysts have upgraded Franklin Electric from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, with a consensus price target now set at $107.00.

Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 34.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,930 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,109 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.09% of Franklin Electric worth $3,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FELE. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Electric by 168.5% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Franklin Electric in the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 27.4% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 731 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Electric by 42.2% in the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 913 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Electric by 60.7% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Electric news, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 10,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 8,171 shares in the company, valued at $801,003.13. This represents a 55.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports 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 increased their price objective on Franklin Electric from $94.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.00.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

FELE opened at $92.84 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $78.87 and a 1-year high of $111.94. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $95.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.30.

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

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were given a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 7th. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio is 27.39%.

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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