Impax Asset Management Group plc Sells 19,094 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Impax Asset Management Group plc trimmed its stake in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 843,614 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 19,094 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned about 1.84% of Franklin Electric worth $79,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,471 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 31,879 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,107,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,739 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,887 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $768,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. 79.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FELE traded down $0.03 on Friday, hitting $92.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 104,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 223,815. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.32, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 one year low of $78.87 and a one year high of $111.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $87.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.65.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.06). The company 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 company's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. Research analysts predict that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were given a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 8th. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.75%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of 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 Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Franklin Electric from $111.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David M. Wathen sold 25,000 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.25, for a total transaction of $2,131,250.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,046,000. The trade was a 51.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director David M. Wathen sold 24,000 shares of the company's 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 99,402 shares of company stock valued at $8,529,908 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

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.