Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 2,465 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 40,140 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,465 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $4,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,769,582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $464,796,000 after purchasing an additional 45,174 shares during the period. Bridge City Capital LLC lifted its position in Franklin Electric by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 32,375 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,155,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Electric by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 6,787 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $661,000 after buying an additional 1,184 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter valued at $1,569,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 20,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,982,000 after acquiring an additional 997 shares during the period. 79.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Electric Price Performance

FELE stock opened at $95.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a PE ratio of 24.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.67 and a 12 month high of $111.94. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $100.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.79. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $485.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $465.87 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a $0.265 dividend. This is a positive change from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.53%.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Electric

In related news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 961 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.14, for a total value of $99,117.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $794,281.14. This trade represents a 11.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

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.