Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Decreases Stock Position in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lowered its position in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR - Free Report) by 33.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,620 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 8,309 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $1,822,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Emerson Electric during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new position in shares of Emerson Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in Emerson Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Emerson Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Emerson Electric in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 74.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on EMR shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Emerson Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Emerson Electric from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Emerson Electric from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Emerson Electric from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Emerson Electric from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $136.47.

Emerson Electric Stock Performance

EMR traded up $1.36 on Tuesday, hitting $130.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,723,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,976,936. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $115.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $118.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Emerson Electric Co. has a 12 month low of $90.06 and a 12 month high of $134.85. The firm has a market cap of $73.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Emerson Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $0.5275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Emerson Electric's payout ratio is currently 50.48%.

Insider Activity at Emerson Electric

In other news, CEO Surendralal Lanca Karsanbhai sold 16,698 shares of Emerson Electric stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 164,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,694,576.81. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Emerson Electric 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.