Wealthfront Advisers LLC Buys New Shares in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 82,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,046,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Franklin Electric as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Franklin Electric by 66.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 497 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Franklin Electric by 189.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Franklin Electric in the 3rd quarter worth $77,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Electric Price Performance

NASDAQ:FELE opened at $99.70 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $99.88 and a 200-day moving average of $101.94. The company has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.67 and a 52 week high of $111.94. 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 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. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 14.46%. The firm had revenue of $485.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $465.87 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. This is a boost from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Franklin Electric’s payout ratio is currently 27.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 961 shares of the business’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 owns 7,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $794,281.14. The trade was a 11.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate 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.