Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $11.68 Million Holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 19.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 120,865 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 29,694 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.26% of Franklin Electric worth $11,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FELE. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter worth about $36,997,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,679,097 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $196,271,000 after purchasing an additional 421,342 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Franklin Electric by 299.7% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 224,227 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $17,882,000 after buying an additional 168,128 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Franklin Electric during the second quarter worth about $15,849,000. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG boosted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 68.8% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 369,996 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,015,000 after purchasing an additional 150,748 shares in the last quarter. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gregg C. Sengstack sold 10,366 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.96, for a total value of $1,036,185.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 154,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,493,100.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FELE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Franklin Electric from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Franklin Electric from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.00.

Franklin Electric Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:FELE traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $106.81. 203,816 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 154,240. The company has a current ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.61 and a 12-month high of $107.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's fifty day moving average is $100.27 and its 200-day moving average is $93.98.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $472.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $490.47 million. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 16.67% and a net margin of 9.36%. Franklin Electric's revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 1st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from Franklin Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.33%.

Franklin Electric 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.