8,216 Shares in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Purchased by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,216 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $801,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,769,582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $464,796,000 after purchasing an additional 45,174 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 811,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $79,098,000 after buying an additional 143,917 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter valued at $56,968,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 513,896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,079,000 after buying an additional 50,750 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Electric by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 503,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,093,000 after acquiring an additional 10,580 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

Shares of Franklin Electric stock opened at $86.93 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.51. The company has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.08. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a one year low of $78.87 and a one year high of $111.94. 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 (NASDAQ:FELE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $455.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $471.21 million. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 14.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FELE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Franklin Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Franklin Electric from $111.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th.

Franklin Electric Company 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.