Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 500 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Gabelli Funds LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 199,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $19,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in shares of Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 497 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Electric by 150.2% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 79.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

Shares of FELE stock opened at $88.91 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $97.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.67. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.69 and a 12 month high of $111.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.09, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.02.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.03. The firm 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This is a positive change from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 961 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.14, for a total value of $99,117.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $794,281.14. This represents a 11.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

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.