Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Increases Position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 14.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 339,764 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 43,945 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $36,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FELE. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 5.9% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 512,762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,754,000 after purchasing an additional 3,433 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 5.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 230.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 36,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 337.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,777 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 2,913 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Electric news, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 1,391 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total value of $136,318.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,774,094. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 1,391 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total value of $136,318.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,774,094. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 2,214 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FELE opened at $95.01 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.63, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.91. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.61 and a twelve month high of $107.89.

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). Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 9.25%. The firm had revenue of $460.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $477.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.88%.

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.