Legal & General Group Plc Trims Holdings in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR)

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its stake in shares of Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) by 24.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,305,407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,090,222 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $409,639,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Emerson Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Emerson Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Emerson Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Emerson Electric in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Emerson Electric during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 74.30% of the company’s stock.

Emerson Electric Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE:EMR opened at $97.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $117.75 and a 200 day moving average of $119.79. Emerson Electric Co. has a 52 week low of $90.06 and a 52 week high of $134.85.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Emerson Electric Co. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Emerson Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.5275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Emerson Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Emerson Electric in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Emerson Electric from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 price objective on shares of Emerson Electric in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Emerson Electric in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $132.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.94.

Emerson Electric Profile

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.