Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Position in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia significantly reduced its stake in Emerson Electric Co. by 48.9%, selling 62,473 shares and leaving it with a total of 65,202 shares worth about $7.15 million.
• CEO Surendralal Lanca Karsanbhai sold 16,698 shares, marking a 9.19% decrease in his ownership, with the transaction valued over $1.89 million.
• Multiple analysts have issued conflicting ratings for Emerson Electric, with price targets ranging from $130 to $165 and an overall consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its holdings in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR - Free Report) by 48.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 65,202 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 62,473 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $7,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Emerson Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new position in shares of Emerson Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Emerson Electric in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Emerson Electric in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Emerson Electric by 145.3% in the first quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC now owns 260 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Surendralal Lanca Karsanbhai sold 16,698 shares of Emerson Electric 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 164,957 shares in the company, valued at $18,694,576.81. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $146.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.28.

Emerson Electric Stock Up 0.6%

EMR opened at $142.65 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.80. Emerson Electric Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.06 and a fifty-two week high of $150.27. The firm's fifty day moving average is $134.13 and its 200 day moving average is $121.41. The stock has a market cap of $80.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.32.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.42 billion. Emerson Electric had a net margin of 13.60% and a return on equity of 13.22%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Emerson Electric Co. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Emerson Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.5275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Emerson Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.48%.

Emerson Electric Company 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.

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