Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 455 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,994 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 455 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $1,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FELE. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 66.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 497 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 189.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Franklin Electric in the third quarter valued at about $77,000. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ FELE opened at $100.28 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.05, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98. 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 12 month low of $91.67 and a 12 month high of $111.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $100.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.87.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $485.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $465.87 million. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 14.46%. As a group, analysts forecast that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. This is a boost from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.53%.

Insider Activity at Franklin Electric

In other Franklin Electric news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 961 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.14, for a total value of $99,117.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,701 shares in the company, valued at approximately $794,281.14. This trade represents a 11.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.