Legal & General Group Plc Sells 2,885 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 207,629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,885 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $20,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FELE. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Franklin Electric by 66.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 497 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Franklin Electric by 189.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 150.2% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Electric

In other news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 961 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.14, for a total value of $99,117.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,701 shares in the company, valued at approximately $794,281.14. This trade represents a 11.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Electric Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ FELE opened at $89.38 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.02. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.69 and a 1-year high of $111.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $98.01 and a 200-day moving average of $100.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.03. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.46% and a net margin of 8.92%. The firm had revenue of $485.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $465.87 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This is a positive change from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.53%.

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.