Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 28,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,782,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Franklin Electric as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of FELE. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Franklin Electric by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 497 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Franklin Electric by 189.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Electric Price Performance

NASDAQ FELE opened at $94.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of 24.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $100.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 2.22. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.67 and a 52-week high of $111.94.

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

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This is a positive change from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Franklin Electric’s payout ratio is 27.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Electric

In related news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 961 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.14, for a total transaction of $99,117.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,701 shares in the company, valued at $794,281.14. The trade was a 11.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

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.