Aviva PLC Sells 18,041 Shares of Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR)

Aviva PLC decreased its position in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 345,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 18,041 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $42,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Emerson Electric during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Emerson Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Emerson Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Emerson Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Emerson Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 74.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Emerson Electric Stock Down 7.3 %

NYSE:EMR opened at $94.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $53.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average of $118.39 and a 200 day moving average of $119.74. Emerson Electric Co. has a 1-year low of $92.23 and a 1-year high of $134.85.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. Emerson Electric had a net margin of 13.74% and a return on equity of 12.08%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Emerson Electric Co. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Emerson Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.5275 per share. This represents a $2.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Emerson Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on EMR shares. Barclays dropped their target price on Emerson Electric from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $137.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Daiwa Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Emerson Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $147.00 price target for the company. Daiwa America raised shares of Emerson Electric to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Emerson Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.94.

About Emerson Electric

Emerson Electric Co, a technology and software company, provides various solutions for customers in industrial, commercial, and consumer markets in the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. It operates in six segments: Final Control, Control Systems & Software, Measurement & Analytical, AspenTech, Discrete Automation, and Safety & Productivity.