Ethic Inc. Cuts Stake in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR)

Ethic Inc. lessened its stake in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,425 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $7,707,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EMR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Emerson Electric by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,536,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,634,837,000 after purchasing an additional 384,313 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Emerson Electric by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,685,615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,443,725,000 after acquiring an additional 232,540 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Emerson Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $885,886,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Emerson Electric by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,676,168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $827,377,000 after acquiring an additional 370,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in Emerson Electric by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 4,376,492 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $542,379,000 after purchasing an additional 171,946 shares during the last quarter. 74.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on EMR shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on Emerson Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $147.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Emerson Electric from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Emerson Electric from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Emerson Electric from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Emerson Electric

In other news, CEO Surendralal Lanca Karsanbhai sold 16,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.33, for a total value of $1,892,384.34. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 164,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,694,576.81. This trade represents a 9.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Emerson Electric Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE EMR opened at $112.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $106.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.86, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.26. Emerson Electric Co. has a 52-week low of $90.06 and a 52-week high of $134.85.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.42 billion. Emerson Electric had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 13.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Emerson Electric Co. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Emerson Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.5275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Emerson Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.36%.

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.