Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $20.66 Million Position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group boosted its Franklin Electric stake by 4.8% in the first quarter, holding 224,135 shares valued at about $20.66 million. Institutional investors overall own nearly 80% of the company.
• Insiders have been selling stock recently, including Jonathan M. Grandon and Delancey W. Davis, with total insider sales of 19,835 shares worth about $2.0 million over the last quarter.
• Franklin Electric beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.83 EPS on $500.44 million in revenue, while analysts currently maintain a Hold consensus with a $106 price target.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 224,135 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,325 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.51% of Franklin Electric worth $20,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 81.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,997 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $375,000 after buying an additional 1,796 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 105.5% during 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 lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 30.6% during 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 bought a new position in Franklin Electric in the first quarter valued at about $243,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in 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 worth $12,877,000 after purchasing an additional 10,862 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 8,547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $883,759.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $776,430.60. The trade was a 53.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 1,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $190,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,040,200. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 19,835 shares of company stock worth $2,004,982 over the last quarter. 2.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FELE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Franklin Electric in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Franklin Electric in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.00.

Franklin Electric Stock Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:FELE opened at $103.93 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $89.54 and a 12-month high of $111.53. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $102.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.03.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.06. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.86% and a net margin of 6.91%.The business had revenue of $500.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $479.21 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.600 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 7th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 7th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio is 33.73%.

Franklin Electric Company 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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