Tributary Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 175,372 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,751 shares during the quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.38% of Franklin Electric worth $16,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FELE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,769,582 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $464,796,000 after purchasing an additional 45,174 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,045,534 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $194,551,000 after purchasing an additional 11,715 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter worth $56,968,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 513,896 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $50,079,000 after purchasing an additional 50,750 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 430,213 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,924,000 after purchasing an additional 51,137 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research analysts recently weighed in on FELE shares. Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Franklin Electric from $111.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Franklin Electric
Insider Transactions at Franklin Electric
In related news, Director David M. Wathen sold 25,402 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 49,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,175,780. This trade represents a 34.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David M. Wathen sold 24,000 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction dated 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. Insiders sold 99,402 shares of company stock valued at $8,529,908 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.
Franklin Electric Stock Down 0.8%
NASDAQ FELE traded down $0.70 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $90.86. The company had a trading volume of 176,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 223,599. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.87 and a fifty-two week high of $111.94. The company has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm's 50 day moving average is $88.44 and its 200 day moving average is $93.25.
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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $455.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.21 million. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 8.85% and a return on equity of 14.08%. The firm's revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th were paid a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.75%.
Franklin Electric declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase 1,200,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.
Franklin Electric Profile
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Free Report)
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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