Welch Group LLC Sells 6,357 Shares of Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR)

Welch Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR - Free Report) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 474,075 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,357 shares during the quarter. Emerson Electric comprises 2.3% of Welch Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Welch Group LLC owned 0.08% of Emerson Electric worth $51,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EMR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Emerson Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $885,886,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in Emerson Electric by 3,866.2% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 2,946,310 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Emerson Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $297,947,000. Boston Partners raised its stake in Emerson Electric by 136.3% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,316,466 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $411,944,000 after purchasing an additional 1,913,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Emerson Electric by 234.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,035,934 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $252,313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426,718 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EMR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Emerson Electric from $104.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Emerson Electric from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Emerson Electric from $158.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Emerson Electric from $113.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $133.53.

Insider Activity at Emerson Electric

In other Emerson Electric news, CEO Surendralal Lanca Karsanbhai sold 16,698 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 164,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,694,576.81. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Emerson Electric Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:EMR traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $119.27. 4,057,167 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,931,099. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.54. The business's 50-day moving average price is $108.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.75. Emerson Electric Co. has a 12 month low of $90.06 and a 12 month high of $134.85.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business 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 business posted $1.36 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Emerson Electric Co. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Emerson Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Emerson Electric's payout ratio is presently 50.48%.

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.