KBC Group NV Lowers Stock Position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

KBC Group NV lessened its position in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 43.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 54,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 41,638 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $5,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 89,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,239,000 after acquiring an additional 2,763 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 20,707 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 75,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,986,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Franklin Electric by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 224,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,659,000 after purchasing an additional 10,325 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Franklin Electric by 7,091.0% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 15,964 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,471,000 after purchasing an additional 15,742 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 8,547 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $883,759.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,509 shares in the company, valued at $776,430.60. The trade was a 53.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 1,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $190,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 10,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,040,200. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 19,835 shares of company stock worth $2,004,982 in the last three months. 2.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ FELE opened at $105.58 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a PE ratio of 31.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $89.54 and a 12-month high of $111.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $102.29 and a 200 day moving average of $99.96.

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

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.