Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Shares Purchased by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 90,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,229 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $8,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 497 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 189.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter worth $127,000. Institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Electric Stock Down 1.9%

FELE stock opened at $87.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.08. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.87 and a 1 year high of $111.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.34. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.06). Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.46% and a net margin of 8.92%. The company had revenue of $455.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $471.21 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.75%.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Electric

In related news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 961 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $794,281.14. This trade represents a 11.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Franklin Electric from $111.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Franklin Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Franklin Electric Company 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.