KBC Group NV Decreases Stock Holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

KBC Group NV reduced its stake in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 388,101 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 27,078 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.85% of Franklin Electric worth $36,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $56,968,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Electric by 13,673.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 192,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $18,076,000 after acquiring an additional 191,150 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $134,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Franklin Electric by 60.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 247,098 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $24,080,000 after acquiring an additional 92,793 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $8,046,000. 79.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Franklin Electric

In other Franklin Electric news, Director David M. Wathen sold 25,402 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.22, for a total value of $2,164,758.44. Following the sale, the director owned 49,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,175,780. This represents a 34.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David M. Wathen sold 24,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 99,402 shares of company stock worth $8,529,908. 2.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FELE shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Electric from $111.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of FELE traded up $2.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $91.78. 196,191 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 223,033. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $78.87 and a 1-year high of $111.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 24.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $87.34 and a 200 day moving average of $93.86.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.06). Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.08% and a net margin of 8.85%. The business had revenue of $455.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.21 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. Franklin Electric's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to buyback 1,200,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th were issued a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.75%.

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.