Vestcor Inc Invests $337,000 in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $337,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Franklin Electric by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 497 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Franklin Electric by 189.2% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Franklin Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 961 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.14, for a total transaction of $99,117.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $794,281.14. This trade represents a 11.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of FELE stock opened at $100.28 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 2.22. The stock has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s fifty day moving average is $100.08 and its 200-day moving average is $101.87. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.67 and a 1 year high of $111.94.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $465.87 million. Equities analysts expect that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.53%.

Franklin Electric Company 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.