69,072 Shares in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Bought by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 69,072 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $6,676,000. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.15% of Franklin Electric at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in Franklin Electric in the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,000. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FELE traded up $0.57 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $100.96. The company had a trading volume of 145,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 174,461. The company has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.54, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.96. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.61 and a 52 week high of $107.89. The business's 50-day moving average is $101.69 and its 200 day moving average is $94.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 2.97.

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

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 1st were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. This is a boost from Franklin Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Electric

In other Franklin Electric news, CEO Gregg C. Sengstack sold 10,366 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.96, for a total transaction of $1,036,185.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 154,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,493,100.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.