Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Acquires 2,262 Shares of Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR - Free Report) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,480 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,262 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $2,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EMR. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Emerson Electric in the 4th quarter worth $885,886,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in Emerson Electric by 3,866.2% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,022,517 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $374,581,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946,310 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Emerson Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $297,947,000. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Emerson Electric by 136.3% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,316,466 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $411,944,000 after acquiring an additional 1,913,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Emerson Electric by 234.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,035,934 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $252,313,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,718 shares in the last quarter. 74.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Emerson Electric Stock Performance

EMR traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $118.08. The stock had a trading volume of 4,430,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,922,543. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $108.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.11. Emerson Electric Co. has a 1 year low of $90.06 and a 1 year high of $134.85. The stock has a market cap of $66.42 billion, a PE ratio of 28.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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

Emerson Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.5275 dividend. This represents a $2.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Emerson Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Emerson Electric from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Daiwa Capital Markets assumed 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Emerson Electric from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Emerson Electric from $99.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given 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 presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $133.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Emerson Electric news, CEO Surendralal Lanca Karsanbhai sold 16,698 shares of Emerson Electric stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was 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 owns 164,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,694,576.81. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.