First Trust Advisors LP Sells 168,752 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its stake in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 11.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,282,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 168,752 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $118,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 69,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,686,000 after buying an additional 11,351 shares during the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,760,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Franklin Electric by 124.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 205,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,575,000 after buying an additional 113,962 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Franklin Electric by 79.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 375,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,848,000 after acquiring an additional 165,646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH bought a new position in Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,266,000. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Franklin Electric in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Franklin Electric in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.00.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FELE opened at $105.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 2.67. The firm has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.96. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $89.54 and a 52 week high of $111.53.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $500.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $479.21 million. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 6.91% and a return on equity of 14.86%. Franklin Electric’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.600 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 7th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 7th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Franklin Electric’s payout ratio is presently 33.73%.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Electric

In related news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 1,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $190,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,040,200. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 8,547 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $883,759.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $776,430.60. This trade represents a 53.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 19,835 shares of company stock valued at $2,004,982 in the last ninety days. 2.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Franklin Electric Profile

Franklin Electric Co, Inc is a world‐leading manufacturer and distributor of systems and components for moving and managing water and fuel. Headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the company specializes in designing engineered pumping systems and related controls for residential, commercial and industrial applications.

Founded in 1944, Franklin Electric has built its reputation on submersible and surface pumping solutions for water wells, municipal water and wastewater treatment, irrigation and industrial fluid handling.