Pictet Asset Management SA Invests $200,000 in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Pictet Asset Management SA bought a new position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE – Get Rating) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FELE. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 130.4% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Electric in the second quarter valued at $37,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in Franklin Electric in the first quarter valued at $38,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 3,382.6% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 938.3% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 1,201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on FELE shares. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Electric from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Franklin Electric from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.75.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Electric

In other news, VP Kenneth Keene sold 1,149 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total value of $110,970.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $412,589.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

Shares of Franklin Electric stock opened at $95.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.98 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.82. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.27 and a 12 month high of $100.00.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $489.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $483.50 million. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 9.17%. Franklin Electric’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 2nd were given a $0.225 dividend. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 1st. This is a positive change from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Franklin Electric’s payout ratio is currently 22.67%.

About Franklin Electric

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Franklin Electric Co, Inc engages in the development, manufacture, and distribution of water and fuel pumping systems. It operates through the following business segments: Water Systems, Fueling Systems, and Distribution. The Water Systems segment designs, manufactures, and sells water pumping systems, submersible motors, pumps, electronic controls, and related parts and equipment.