First Trust Advisors LP Grows Position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 411,247 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,876 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.90% of Franklin Electric worth $40,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 45,174 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 811,682 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $79,098,000 after acquiring an additional 143,917 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter valued at $56,968,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 503,775 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $49,093,000 after purchasing an additional 10,580 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 415,179 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $40,459,000 after purchasing an additional 28,121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Franklin Electric

In other news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 961 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.14, for a total transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Franklin Electric from $111.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FELE traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $84.96. The stock had a trading volume of 454,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 202,611. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.87 and a 1 year high of $111.94. The firm's 50 day moving average is $94.15 and its 200-day moving average is $99.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 2.22.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $455.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $471.21 million. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 14.46%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. Research analysts predict that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. Franklin Electric's payout ratio is 27.53%.

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.