Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Acquires 840 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 840 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned 0.05% of Franklin Electric worth $2,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in Franklin Electric by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 505,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,838,000 after buying an additional 6,662 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. purchased a new stake in Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $729,000. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Franklin Electric by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. now owns 143,345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,854,000 after buying an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Franklin Electric by 51.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 0.3 %

Franklin Electric stock opened at $100.51 on Friday. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.61 and a 1-year high of $107.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.08.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.02). Franklin Electric had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 16.67%. The business had revenue of $472.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $490.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 1st were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. This is a positive change from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 31st. Franklin Electric’s payout ratio is currently 24.33%.

Insider Activity at Franklin Electric

In related news, CEO Gregg C. Sengstack sold 10,366 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.96, for a total value of $1,036,185.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 154,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,493,100.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FELE shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Franklin Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 14th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Franklin Electric from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Electric has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

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.