Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.91 Million in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 19,800 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,914,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,997,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 18.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,679,097 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $196,271,000 after acquiring an additional 421,342 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 299.7% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 224,227 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $17,882,000 after acquiring an additional 168,128 shares during the period. Robeco Schweiz AG raised its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 68.8% in the third quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 369,996 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,015,000 after acquiring an additional 150,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 3,632.2% in the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 150,071 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $14,122,000 after purchasing an additional 146,050 shares during the period. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gregg C. Sengstack sold 10,366 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.96, for a total value of $1,036,185.36. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Northcoast Research upgraded Franklin Electric from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Franklin Electric from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $100.00.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of FELE traded up $0.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $101.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 238,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 175,980. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.97 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.61 and a 12-month high of $107.89. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.96. The company's 50 day moving average is $101.92 and its 200 day moving average is $95.08.

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

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

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

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.