The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $2.37 Million Holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 462 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $2,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FELE. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Electric by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $241,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Franklin Electric by 26.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 154,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,174,000 after purchasing an additional 31,937 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 9.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,076,000 after buying an additional 914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Franklin Electric by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 503,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,093,000 after buying an additional 10,580 shares during the period. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Electric

In other 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

Franklin Electric stock opened at $86.93 on Friday. The stock 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. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.87 and a 12-month high of $111.94. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $92.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.51.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $455.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.21 million. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.46% and a net margin of 8.92%. Franklin Electric’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be issued a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Franklin Electric’s payout ratio is presently 27.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FELE. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Franklin Electric from $111.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Franklin Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st.

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.