Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 105,561 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 943 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.23% of Franklin Electric worth $10,202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FELE. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 35.3% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Electric by 51.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc acquired a new position in Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter worth $200,000. Institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gregg C. Sengstack sold 10,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.96, for a total value of $1,036,185.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 154,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,493,100.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Electric Price Performance

NASDAQ:FELE opened at $97.60 on Thursday. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.61 and a 52-week high of $107.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.75, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $102.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.88.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $460.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $477.64 million. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 16.67% and a net margin of 9.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 1st. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on FELE shares. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Franklin Electric from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Electric from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

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.