KBC Group NV Buys 63,436 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 19.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 387,058 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 63,436 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.85% of Franklin Electric worth $40,571,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FELE. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Franklin Electric by 55.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Electric during the second quarter valued at $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Franklin Electric by 130.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 724 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 684 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Franklin Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at about $74,000. 79.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Electric news, insider Gregg C. Sengstack sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.22, for a total transaction of $150,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $905,187.04. This trade represents a 14.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Franklin Electric from $107.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Franklin Electric Trading Down 0.6 %

Franklin Electric stock traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $106.09. 105,242 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 177,439. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.86, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.96. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $102.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.42. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.65 and a fifty-two week high of $110.97.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $531.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $551.08 million. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 15.03% and a net margin of 9.22%. The firm's revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.32%.

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.