NorthRock Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR)

NorthRock Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR - Free Report) by 113.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,782 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,142 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $964,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Emerson Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Emerson Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Emerson Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Emerson Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Emerson Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.30% of the company's stock.

Emerson Electric Price Performance

Emerson Electric stock traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $120.58. The company had a trading volume of 2,712,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,908,690. Emerson Electric Co. has a 1 year low of $90.06 and a 1 year high of $134.85. 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 company has a market capitalization of $67.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.26. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $107.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $118.87.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Emerson Electric had a net margin of 13.74% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The company had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Emerson Electric Co. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Emerson Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.5275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Emerson Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.48%.

Insider Transactions at Emerson Electric

In other news, CEO Surendralal Lanca Karsanbhai sold 16,698 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.33, for a total transaction of $1,892,384.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 164,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,694,576.81. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EMR. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Emerson Electric from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Emerson Electric from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Emerson Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Emerson Electric from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $132.24.

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.