3,489 Shares in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE Bought by Virtu Financial LLC

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC has made a new investment in Franklin Electric Co. valued at approximately $327,000, purchasing 3,489 shares during the first quarter of the year.
• Insider transactions unveiled that Jonathan M. Grandon sold a significant number of shares, decreasing his holdings by 55.12% to just over 8,000 shares, while insiders collectively sold shares worth $9.5 million in the past 90 days.
• Franklin Electric recently disclosed a quarterly dividend of $0.265 per share and initiated a stock repurchase plan, signaling confidence in the company’s stock valuation.

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,489 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,471 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 31,879 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,107,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 4.5% in 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 last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Electric by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,739 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Franklin Electric by 27.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 731 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Electric news, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 10,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.03, for a total value of $983,829.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $801,003.13. This trade represents a 55.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David M. Wathen sold 25,402 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.22, for a total transaction of $2,164,758.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 49,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,175,780. This represents a 34.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 109,438 shares of company stock valued at $9,513,738. Insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FELE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Electric from $94.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.00.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of FELE stock traded up $0.6580 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $97.2280. 33,108 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 266,914. The stock's fifty day moving average is $91.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.61. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.08. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.87 and a 52-week high of $111.94. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $587.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $566.61 million. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 14.05%. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.950-4.250 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

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

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

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

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.