Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Purchases Shares of 26,152 Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. has made a new investment in Franklin Electric Co., Inc., acquiring 26,152 shares valued at approximately $2.46 million during the 1st quarter.
• Analysts have set a new average price target of $107.00 for Franklin Electric, with recent upgrades including a shift from a "hold" to a "buy" rating from Wall Street Zen.
• Franklin Electric recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.265 per share, with a current annualized yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 27.39%.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 26,152 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,455,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. owned approximately 0.06% of Franklin Electric at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FELE. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 80,432 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,838,000 after acquiring an additional 10,862 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 90,480 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,817,000 after acquiring an additional 2,229 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 5,583 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $544,000 after acquiring an additional 1,953 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 87,906 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,567,000 after acquiring an additional 11,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 32,195 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,137,000 after acquiring an additional 1,842 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FELE shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Franklin Electric from $94.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the insider directly owned 8,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $801,003.13. This trade represents a 55.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ FELE traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $94.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 25,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 259,479. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.87 and a 12 month high of $111.94. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $94.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.98. The company has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.07. 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 (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.31 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 company had revenue of $587.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $566.61 million. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.950-4.250 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

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

Franklin Electric announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to buyback 1,200,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Franklin Electric 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.