Royce & Associates LP Purchases New Stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Royce & Associates LP acquired a new position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,973 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FELE. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Franklin Electric by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 811,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $79,098,000 after purchasing an additional 143,917 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter worth $134,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter worth $8,046,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Franklin Electric by 237.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 87,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,184,000 after purchasing an additional 61,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Franklin Electric by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 392,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,208,000 after purchasing an additional 53,825 shares in the last quarter. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Franklin Electric Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ FELE opened at $95.56 on Friday. 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 Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.67 and a 12 month high of $111.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a PE ratio of 24.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.74.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last issued 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 company 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%. Equities analysts expect that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. This is a positive change from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.53%.

About Franklin Electric

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.