Wealthfront Advisers LLC Makes New $8.05 Million Investment in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 82,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,046,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FELE. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $939,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 262,542 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,941,000 after acquiring an additional 18,403 shares during the last quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. bought a new position in shares of Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $331,000. Haven Private LLC bought a new position in Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $469,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in Franklin Electric by 108.5% in the 4th quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 50,096 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,882,000 after buying an additional 26,070 shares during the last quarter. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Franklin Electric

In related news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 961 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.14, for a total value of $99,117.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $794,281.14. This trade represents a 11.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Franklin Electric Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ FELE opened at $99.70 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.67 and a 1 year high of $111.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.94. The firm has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a PE ratio of 25.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

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

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.