Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 2,929 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,726 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,929 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $1,707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the first quarter valued at about $968,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Franklin Electric by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,751,322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $507,489,000 after buying an additional 30,408 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in Franklin Electric by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 48,629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,197,000 after buying an additional 5,311 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 357.6% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $889,000 after acquiring an additional 7,213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,711,000. 79.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FELE opened at $95.53 on Friday. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.61 and a twelve month high of $108.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $99.96 and its 200-day moving average is $100.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.77, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.96.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.06). Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 9.35%. The business had revenue of $543.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $570.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Gregg C. Sengstack sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.87, for a total value of $519,350.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 108,489 shares in the company, valued at $11,268,752.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Gregg C. Sengstack sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.87, for a total value of $519,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 108,489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,268,752.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gregg C. Sengstack sold 5,396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.64, for a total transaction of $575,429.44. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 98,093 shares in the company, valued at $10,460,637.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,486 shares of company stock valued at $2,568,171. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

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.