Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $1.66 Million Stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,994 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $1,656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Franklin Electric by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 995 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $8,046,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $939,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the period. Amundi grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 262,542 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,941,000 after buying an additional 18,403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. bought a new position in Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $331,000. 79.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 961 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $794,281.14. This trade represents a 11.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Electric Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of FELE stock opened at $100.28 on Tuesday. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.67 and a 12-month high of $111.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $100.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.87. 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 $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $485.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $465.87 million. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.46% and a net margin of 8.92%. As a group, analysts predict that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. This is a positive change from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.53%.

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.