Bank of Montreal Can Raises Position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 74.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,243 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 9,084 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can's holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $2,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position 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 during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Electric by 189.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 642 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 150.2% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Franklin Electric Trading Up 1.0 %

FELE stock traded up $0.81 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $85.37. The company had a trading volume of 10,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 199,275. The stock has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a PE ratio of 22.10, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.02. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a one year low of $82.69 and a one year high of $111.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $96.38 and a 200-day moving average of $100.16.

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

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a $0.265 dividend. This is a positive change from Franklin Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $103.14, for a total transaction of $99,117.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,701 shares in the company, valued at approximately $794,281.14. This represents a 11.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.