Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $1.71 Million Stock Position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 41.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,497 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,266 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $1,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FELE. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Franklin Electric during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 31.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 213.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 1,900 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $190,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,402 shares in the company, valued at $1,040,200. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 8,547 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $883,759.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,509 shares in the company, valued at $776,430.60. This trade represents a 53.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 14,647 shares of company stock valued at $1,486,326 in the last three months. 2.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FELE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Franklin Electric from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Electric from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.50.

Franklin Electric Trading Up 2.1%

NASDAQ:FELE opened at $106.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $103.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.28. The firm has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.03. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $89.54 and a 52 week high of $115.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 2.41.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $622.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $605.92 million. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 15.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.500-4.700 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. Franklin Electric’s payout ratio is presently 32.28%.

About Franklin Electric

Franklin Electric Co, Inc is a world‐leading manufacturer and distributor of systems and components for moving and managing water and fuel. Headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the company specializes in designing engineered pumping systems and related controls for residential, commercial and industrial applications.

Founded in 1944, Franklin Electric has built its reputation on submersible and surface pumping solutions for water wells, municipal water and wastewater treatment, irrigation and industrial fluid handling.