Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Invests $688,000 in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,055 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $688,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 684 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 15.6% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 765 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 55.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 11,009 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,060,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,048 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $634,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Electric Price Performance

FELE stock opened at $98.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a PE ratio of 24.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $101.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.83. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a one year low of $91.67 and a one year high of $111.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 2.40.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.27 by ($0.10). Franklin Electric had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 15.03%. The company had revenue of $531.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $551.08 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Gregg C. Sengstack sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.22, for a total value of $150,330.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,032 shares in the company, valued at $905,187.04. The trade was a 14.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Franklin Electric from $107.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Franklin Electric Company 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.