Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Stake Trimmed by AE Wealth Management LLC

AE Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 9.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 442 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FELE. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 10.6% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,815 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 19.4% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 50.3% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 46.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $193,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Franklin Electric by 168.5% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on FELE shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Franklin Electric from $111.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of Franklin Electric stock opened at $95.96 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.98. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.05. The firm has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 25.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.07. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.87 and a 52-week high of $111.94.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $587.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $566.61 million. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.08% and a net margin of 8.85%. On average, analysts predict that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.75%.

Franklin Electric declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase 1,200,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Franklin Electric

In related news, Director David M. Wathen sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.10, for a total value of $2,066,400.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David M. Wathen sold 25,402 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.22, for a total value of $2,164,758.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 49,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,175,780. This trade represents a 34.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 99,402 shares of company stock valued at $8,529,908 over the last quarter. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.