Insider Selling: Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Director Sells $2,164,758.44 in Stock

Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Director David M. Wathen sold 25,402 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was 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 now owns 49,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,175,780. This represents a 34.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

David M. Wathen also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, June 4th, David M. Wathen sold 24,000 shares of Franklin Electric stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.10, for a total transaction of $2,066,400.00.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of FELE opened at $86.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.08. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.87 and a 52 week high of $111.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $87.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $455.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $471.21 million. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 14.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 8th. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 168.5% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Franklin Electric during the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 497 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter worth $52,000. 79.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on FELE shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird lowered 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.

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.