Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 1,268 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL cut its position in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 248,977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,268 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned about 0.54% of Franklin Electric worth $24,263,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Electric by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,471 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $631,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. BHK Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. BHK Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $501,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,739 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 2.6% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,048 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $634,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FELE opened at $89.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $97.78 and a 200 day moving average of $100.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.02. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.69 and a 52 week high of $111.94.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.03. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.46% and a net margin of 8.92%. The firm had revenue of $485.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $465.87 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is an increase from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Franklin Electric’s payout ratio is presently 27.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 961 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.