Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 8,050 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 208,631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,050 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.45% of Franklin Electric worth $20,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FELE. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 88.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 121,400.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $147,000. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Franklin Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Electric

In other news, insider Gregg C. Sengstack sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.87, for a total transaction of $519,350.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 108,489 shares in the company, valued at $11,268,752.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jay J. Walsh sold 14,090 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,473,391.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,927 shares in the company, valued at $1,770,056.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Gregg C. Sengstack sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,877 shares of company stock worth $2,704,489. Insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Electric Price Performance

FELE opened at $99.71 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $99.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.37. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.61 and a 1 year high of $108.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 24.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

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

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.