Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 511 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BHK Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. BHK Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $501,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 2.6% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,048 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $634,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 961 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.14, for a total value of $99,117.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,701 shares in the company, valued at $794,281.14. This represents a 11.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Franklin Electric Price Performance

FELE opened at $98.01 on Friday. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a one year low of $91.67 and a one year high of $111.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.03. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 14.46%. The business had revenue of $485.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $465.87 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.265 per share. This is a boost from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 27.53%.

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.