Manchester Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

Manchester Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 96.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,637 shares during the quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $34,000 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. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 81.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,997 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 1,796 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 105.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 25,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,390,000 after buying an additional 13,075 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 30.6% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,760 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $541,000 after buying an additional 1,349 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in Franklin Electric in the 1st quarter worth approximately $243,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 137,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,877,000 after buying an additional 10,862 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 8,547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $883,759.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,509 shares in the company, valued at $776,430.60. This represents a 53.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 1,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $190,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 10,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,040,200. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 19,835 shares of company stock valued at $2,004,982 in the last ninety days. 2.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Franklin Electric Price Performance

Shares of Franklin Electric stock opened at $99.63 on Thursday. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $84.31 and a 52-week high of $111.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $98.98 and a 200-day moving average of $98.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.06. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 6.91% and a return on equity of 14.86%. The company had revenue of $500.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $479.21 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.600 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 7th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 7th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 33.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Franklin Electric in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.00.

Franklin Electric Profile

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.