Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. by 2.7%, selling 127,653 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 4.64 million shares valued at $435.78 million.
• Franklin Electric recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.265 per share, with a payout ratio of 27.39%, and will conduct a share buyback program for 1.2 million outstanding shares.
• Despite a 0.6% drop in stock price, Franklin Electric reported strong quarterly earnings, beating estimates with an EPS of $1.31 and revenue of $587.43 million, above analyst expectations.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,641,929 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 127,653 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.14% of Franklin Electric worth $435,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Haven Private LLC raised its position in Franklin Electric by 4.0% in the first quarter. Haven Private LLC now owns 5,006 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 67.6% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 36,796 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,454,000 after acquiring an additional 14,835 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 14.4% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 17,646 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,657,000 after acquiring an additional 2,227 shares during the last quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 4.5% during the first quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. now owns 3,202 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 93.0% during the first quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 5,179 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 2,496 shares during the period. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:FELE traded up $0.6260 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $97.1960. The stock had a trading volume of 85,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 267,246. 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 $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of 25.13, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.08. The firm's fifty day moving average is $91.40 and its 200 day moving average is $92.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $587.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $566.61 million. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 8.71%. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.950-4.250 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to buyback 1,200,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows 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 management believes its stock is undervalued.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be paid a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David M. Wathen sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.25, for a total value of $2,131,250.00. Following the sale, the director owned 24,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,046,000. This represents a 51.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David M. Wathen sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were 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 have sold 109,438 shares of company stock worth $9,513,738 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Franklin Electric Company 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.