KBC Group NV Trims Stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

Key Points

• KBC Group NV cut its stake in Franklin Electric by 54.0% in Q4 to 96,046 shares (about $9.18M), while institutional investors now own roughly 79.98% of FELE and other funds like AQR and UBS increased positions.
• Franklin Electric reported Q4 EPS of $0.87 (a $0.02 miss) and $506.9M in revenue (below estimates), issued FY2026 guidance of 4.40–4.60 EPS, and the consensus rating is a Hold with a $106 price target.
• CEO Joseph Ruzynski purchased 500 shares at $93.34, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.28 (annualized $1.12, ~1.1% yield).

KBC Group NV lowered its position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 54.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,046 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 112,702 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned about 0.22% of Franklin Electric worth $9,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FELE. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 81.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,997 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 1,796 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 105.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 25,463 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,390,000 after acquiring an additional 13,075 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 30.6% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,760 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,349 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric in the first quarter valued at $243,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 8.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 137,162 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $12,877,000 after acquiring an additional 10,862 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Electric

In other news, CEO Joseph A. Ruzynski purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $93.34 per share, for a total transaction of $46,670.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 22,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,120,871.48. This represents a 2.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.89% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on FELE. DA Davidson set a $100.00 price target on shares of Franklin Electric in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Franklin Electric in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Electric has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.00.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 2.6%

NASDAQ:FELE opened at $101.68 on Friday. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.87 and a fifty-two week high of $111.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 2.79. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $97.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.99.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.02). Franklin Electric had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The firm had revenue of $506.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $516.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.600 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from Franklin Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.78%.

Franklin Electric Profile

Franklin Electric Co, Inc is a world‐leading manufacturer and distributor of systems and components for moving and managing water and fuel. Headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the company specializes in designing engineered pumping systems and related controls for residential, commercial and industrial applications.

Founded in 1944, Franklin Electric has built its reputation on submersible and surface pumping solutions for water wells, municipal water and wastewater treatment, irrigation and industrial fluid handling.

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