Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $20.71 Million Stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 197,584 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 11,047 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.43% of Franklin Electric worth $20,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Franklin Electric by 19.6% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 387,058 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,571,000 after purchasing an additional 63,436 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Franklin Electric by 237.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 87,620 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,184,000 after purchasing an additional 61,640 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in Franklin Electric by 328.4% during the second quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 64,431 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,206,000 after purchasing an additional 49,391 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Franklin Electric by 2.0% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,030,238 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $212,810,000 after buying an additional 40,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in Franklin Electric by 2.6% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,563,125 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $150,560,000 after buying an additional 39,478 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Franklin Electric from $107.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

FELE traded up $0.15 on Thursday, reaching $99.05. The company had a trading volume of 94,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 176,734. The stock has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 2.40. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.45 and a fifty-two week high of $111.94. The company's fifty day moving average is $104.44 and its 200 day moving average is $101.64.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by ($0.10). Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 15.03% and a net margin of 9.22%. The firm had revenue of $531.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $551.08 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. Franklin Electric's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Franklin Electric's payout ratio is 25.32%.

Insider Activity at Franklin Electric

In other Franklin Electric news, insider Gregg C. Sengstack sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.22, for a total transaction of $150,330.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,032 shares in the company, valued at $905,187.04. This represents a 14.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.72% of the stock is currently 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.