Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 470,526 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,226 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.02% of Franklin Electric worth $45,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 35.3% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 541 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 51.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc bought a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 2,214 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.06, for a total transaction of $225,960.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,014 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,908.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 2,214 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.06, for a total transaction of $225,960.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,014 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,908.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gregg C. Sengstack sold 10,366 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 154,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,493,100.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on FELE shares. 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 report on Friday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Electric from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Franklin Electric from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Electric from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

FELE stock traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $99.95. 95,911 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 226,358. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $102.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 2.85. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.61 and a 52 week high of $107.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.99.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.04). Franklin Electric had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The business had revenue of $460.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $477.64 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The company's revenue was down 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.88%.

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.