Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) Shares Acquired by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,804 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,732 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $5,804,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Emerson Electric by 3.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 586,319 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $66,043,000 after purchasing an additional 17,913 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Emerson Electric by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 812,976 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $88,915,000 after purchasing an additional 23,205 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Emerson Electric by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,013,550 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $871,083,000 after buying an additional 375,470 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in Emerson Electric by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,236 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Market Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Emerson Electric by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 4,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Emerson Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their target price on Emerson Electric from $99.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Emerson Electric from $135.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Emerson Electric from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.88.

Emerson Electric Stock Performance

NYSE EMR traded up $0.17 on Friday, hitting $112.55. 2,581,429 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,878,095. 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's 50-day moving average price is $106.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.51. The firm has a market cap of $63.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.26. Emerson Electric Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.06 and a fifty-two week high of $134.85.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.48 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 firm had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Emerson Electric Co. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Emerson Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.5275 per share. This represents a $2.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Emerson Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 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 dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.33, for a total value of $1,892,384.34. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 164,957 shares in the company, valued at $18,694,576.81. This trade represents a 9.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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.