Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Trims Stock Position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 123 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $1,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Electric by 5.9% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $474,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 230.0% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 52,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,650,000 after buying an additional 36,320 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 337.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,777 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 2,913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Electric in the 3rd quarter worth $1,380,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Electric

In related news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 2,214 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.06, for a total transaction of $225,960.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $817,908.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 1,391 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 18,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,774,094. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 2,214 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Electric Stock Down 1.2 %

Franklin Electric stock traded down $1.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $94.11. 6,940 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 177,106. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.61 and a 52-week high of $107.89. The firm has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.70, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 2.85. The company’s 50-day moving average is $98.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.86.

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

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The company 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FELE has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Franklin Electric from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th.

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.