Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Shares Sold by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. reduced its position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 15.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 85,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 16,000 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned 0.19% of Franklin Electric worth $8,283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 4.3% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 7,427 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $663,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,359 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $746,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. Strs Ohio grew its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 164.6% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 12,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 7,900 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 23,435 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,091,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Electric in the third quarter worth $250,000. Institutional investors own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on FELE. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Franklin Electric from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered Franklin Electric from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, January 14th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Franklin Electric from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Electric from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.00.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $99.96, for a total transaction of $1,036,185.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 154,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,493,100.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Franklin Electric Price Performance

Shares of FELE traded up $1.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $97.60. The stock had a trading volume of 306,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 185,511. The company's 50-day moving average is $102.35 and its 200 day moving average is $95.87. The company has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.96. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.61 and a 12-month high of $107.89. 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 (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $460.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $477.64 million. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 16.67%. The firm's revenue was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 1st. Franklin Electric's payout ratio is presently 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.