Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Sells 1,780 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. reduced its stake in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 69,433 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,780 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $6,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $56,968,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in Franklin Electric by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 811,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,098,000 after purchasing an additional 143,917 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $134,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 60.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 247,098 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,080,000 after buying an additional 92,793 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,046,000. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

Shares of Franklin Electric stock opened at $97.20 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.67 and a 12 month high of $111.94.

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

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. This is an increase from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 27.53%.

Insider Activity at Franklin Electric

In other news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 961 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.14, for a total value of $99,117.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,701 shares in the company, valued at $794,281.14. The trade was a 11.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.