Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 4.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 204,585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,471 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.46% of Franklin Electric worth $19,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FELE. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 31.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 36.5% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 24.3% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 608 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 10.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FELE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $112.00 price objective on Franklin Electric in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Franklin Electric in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Electric has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.00.

Franklin Electric Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ FELE opened at $107.55 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a PE ratio of 35.03, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.08. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.87 and a twelve month high of $108.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.46.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 5th. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.48%.

About Franklin Electric

Franklin Electric Co, Inc is a world‐leading manufacturer and distributor of systems and components for moving and managing water and fuel. Headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the company specializes in designing engineered pumping systems and related controls for residential, commercial and industrial applications.

Founded in 1944, Franklin Electric has built its reputation on submersible and surface pumping solutions for water wells, municipal water and wastewater treatment, irrigation and industrial fluid handling.