Park Avenue Securities LLC Sells 162 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Park Avenue Securities LLC trimmed its stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 7.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 162 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $56,968,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Electric by 13,673.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 192,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,076,000 after purchasing an additional 191,150 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Franklin Electric by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 811,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,098,000 after purchasing an additional 143,917 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $134,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Franklin Electric by 60.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 247,098 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,080,000 after purchasing an additional 92,793 shares during the last quarter. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David M. Wathen sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.10, for a total transaction of $2,066,400.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David M. Wathen sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.25, for a total transaction of $2,131,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,046,000. The trade was a 51.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 99,402 shares of company stock valued at $8,529,908 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FELE shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Electric from $111.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:FELE opened at $86.57 on Tuesday. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.87 and a 52-week high of $111.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $87.31 and a 200 day moving average of $95.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 2.22.

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

Franklin Electric declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to buyback 1,200,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th were paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 8th. Franklin Electric’s payout ratio is currently 27.75%.

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.