Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Buys 1,650 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 50.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,650 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 168.5% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 189.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas grew its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $127,000. 79.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FELE opened at $92.92 on Friday. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.87 and a twelve month high of $111.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $87.51 and its 200-day moving average is $93.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.32, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.07.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.06). Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.08% and a net margin of 8.85%. The business had revenue of $455.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.21 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.75%.

Franklin Electric announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase 1,200,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Franklin Electric from $111.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David M. Wathen sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.25, for a total value of $2,131,250.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,046,000. This trade represents a 51.02% 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 hyperlink. Also, Director David M. Wathen sold 24,000 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.10, for a total value of $2,066,400.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 99,402 shares of company stock valued at $8,529,908 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Electric Company 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.