Gotham Asset Management LLC Sells 1,342 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Gotham Asset Management LLC lessened its position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,569 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,342 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Electric by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,471 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. BHK Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Franklin Electric by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. BHK Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 31,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,107,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,739 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on FELE shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Franklin Electric from $111.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Franklin Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th.

Franklin Electric Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of FELE stock opened at $89.96 on Monday. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.87 and a 12-month high of $111.94. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 23.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $90.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $455.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.21 million. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.46% and a net margin of 8.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.75%.

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.