Nuveen Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 13.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 430,213 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 51,137 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.94% of Franklin Electric worth $41,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Franklin Electric by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 497 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Franklin Electric by 189.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 642 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $127,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FELE has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Electric from $111.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 961 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.14, for a total value of $99,117.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,701 shares in the company, valued at approximately $794,281.14. The trade was a 11.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

Franklin Electric stock opened at $89.35 on Tuesday. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.87 and a 12-month high of $111.94. The company has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $90.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.10.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.46% and a net margin of 8.92%. The business had revenue of $455.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $471.21 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.75%.

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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