Park Avenue Securities LLC Trims Stock Position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Park Avenue Securities LLC cut its stake in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 14.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 433 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,711,000. Running Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Electric by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 92,593 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,949,000 after buying an additional 14,074 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Franklin Electric by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 470,526 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,476,000 after buying an additional 8,226 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Franklin Electric by 37.7% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 26,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,588,000 after buying an additional 7,325 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $740,000. 79.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 1,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $136,318.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,774,094. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 1,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $136,318.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,774,094. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 2,214 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.06, for a total transaction of $225,960.84. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $817,908.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Franklin Electric Trading Down 2.4 %

NASDAQ:FELE opened at $93.97 on Tuesday. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.61 and a 12 month high of $107.89. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.38, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.96.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.04). Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 9.25%. The company had revenue of $460.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $477.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Franklin Electric’s payout ratio is currently 24.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FELE shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Franklin Electric from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st.

Franklin Electric 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.