Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Emerson Electric Co. $EMR

Key Points

• Wilkins Investment Counsel trimmed its Emerson Electric stake by 8.8% in Q4, selling 11,410 shares and holding 117,923 shares valued at about $15.65 million, roughly 2.3% of its portfolio and its 16th largest holding.
• Insiders sold 13,879 shares (~$2.12 million) over the last quarter, including CEO Surendralal Lanca Karsanbhai's sale of 5,700 shares for $811,224, leaving insiders with about 0.23% ownership.
• Emerson beat Q results (EPS $1.46 vs. $1.41 est.) with revenue up 4.1% YoY and set FY 2026 guidance of 6.40–6.55 EPS (Q2 guide 1.50–1.55); analysts' consensus is a Hold with an average price target of $162.38.

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR - Free Report) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,923 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 11,410 shares during the quarter. Emerson Electric accounts for approximately 2.3% of Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $15,651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Emerson Electric by 185.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,192,982 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $418,730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,075,425 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Emerson Electric by 29.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,260,097 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $690,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187,974 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Emerson Electric by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,262,570 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $821,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069,122 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in Emerson Electric by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,205,569 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $945,227,000 after purchasing an additional 859,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in Emerson Electric by 34.0% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,860,894 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $375,547,000 after buying an additional 726,477 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Emerson Electric

In other news, CEO Surendralal Lanca Karsanbhai sold 5,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.32, for a total transaction of $811,224.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 281,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,047,851.76. This trade represents a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew S. Levatich sold 1,476 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.16, for a total value of $239,348.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,349 shares in the company, valued at $3,948,433.84. This trade represents a 5.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 13,879 shares of company stock worth $2,116,818. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EMR. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Emerson Electric from $143.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen lowered Emerson Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Emerson Electric in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Emerson Electric from $176.00 to $161.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Emerson Electric from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $162.38.

Emerson Electric Stock Performance

Emerson Electric stock opened at $137.53 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $138.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.84. Emerson Electric Co. has a one year low of $106.51 and a one year high of $165.15.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. Emerson Electric had a return on equity of 17.25% and a net margin of 12.72%.The company had revenue of $4.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. Emerson Electric's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Emerson Electric has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.400-6.550 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.500-1.550 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Emerson Electric Co. will post 6.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Emerson Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Emerson Electric's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.28%.

Emerson Electric Profile

Emerson Electric Co is a global technology and engineering company that designs and manufactures products and provides services for industrial, commercial and consumer markets. Founded in 1890, the company is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, and has built a long-standing presence in automation, control and climate-related technologies. Emerson's offerings are aimed at improving productivity, energy efficiency and reliability for a wide range of end markets.

Emerson operates through two principal platforms—Automation Solutions and Commercial & Residential Solutions—providing process automation systems, measurement and analytical instrumentation, valves and actuators, control software, and related aftermarket services, alongside products for heating, ventilation and refrigeration, residential and commercial climate controls, tools and storage solutions.

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