Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Buys 52,161 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 58.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,338 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,161 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned about 0.32% of Franklin Electric worth $13,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in Franklin Electric by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 194,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,881,000 after acquiring an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 4.4% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 256,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,653,000 after purchasing an additional 10,858 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 116.6% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 147,141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,562,000 after purchasing an additional 79,222 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 40.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 112,786 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,395,000 after purchasing an additional 32,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 3.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,009,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $93,059,000 after purchasing an additional 36,268 shares in the last quarter. 79.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Electric Trading Down 0.2%

FELE stock opened at $105.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $89.54 and a 1-year high of $111.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.05. The company has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.76, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.03.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.06. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 6.91% and a return on equity of 14.86%. The firm had revenue of $500.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $479.21 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Franklin Electric in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Franklin Electric in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Electric has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Electric

In other Franklin Electric news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 1,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $190,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,040,200. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 8,547 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $883,759.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $776,430.60. The trade was a 53.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 19,835 shares of company stock valued at $2,004,982 over the last ninety days. 2.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.