Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 7,628 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 205,212 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,628 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.45% of Franklin Electric worth $19,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 55.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 16.7% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 684 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 29.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Franklin Electric news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 961 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction 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 owns 7,701 shares in the company, valued at $794,281.14. The trade was a 11.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Remove Ads

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FELE traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $102.15. 304,184 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 203,809. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.67 and a twelve month high of $111.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.40 and a 200 day moving average of $101.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This is a positive change from Franklin Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.53%.

About Franklin Electric

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.