Wesleyan Assurance Society Raises Stake in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR)

Wesleyan Assurance Society boosted its position in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares during the quarter. Wesleyan Assurance Society's holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $12,172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Emerson Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new position in Emerson Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Emerson Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Emerson Electric in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC increased its stake in Emerson Electric by 145.3% in the first quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC now owns 260 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. 74.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Emerson Electric from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Emerson Electric from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Emerson Electric from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Emerson Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Emerson Electric to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Emerson Electric currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.28.

Insider Buying and Selling at Emerson Electric

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

Emerson Electric Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EMR traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $146.87. 1,877,253 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,056,116. The stock has a market cap of $82.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.14, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Emerson Electric Co. has a twelve month low of $90.06 and a twelve month high of $147.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $129.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.01.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.42 billion. Emerson Electric had a net margin of 13.60% and a return on equity of 13.22%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Emerson Electric Co. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Emerson Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.5275 dividend. This represents a $2.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Emerson Electric's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.48%.

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.