Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE Stock: First Merchants Corp Decreases Holdings

First Merchants Corp decreased its position in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 51.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 48,484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 51,516 shares during the quarter. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $4,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric during the second quarter worth about $44,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 66.7% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 555 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 843.3% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:FELE opened at $100.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $99.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $89.54 and a 1-year high of $115.82.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $622.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $605.92 million. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 15.18%. Franklin Electric’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.500-4.700 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 32.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FELE. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Franklin Electric from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Electric in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Franklin Electric from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.50.

Franklin Electric Profile

Franklin Electric Co, Inc (NASDAQ: FELE) is a global manufacturer and distributor of systems and components used to move, manage and control water and other fluids. Founded in 1944 and headquartered in Bluffton, Indiana, the company originally focused on submersible electric motors and has expanded into a broader range of fluid-handling technologies.

Franklin Electric’s Water Systems business supplies submersible pumps, motors, drives, controls, monitoring equipment and related products for residential, commercial, agricultural, municipal and industrial applications.