Focus Partners Wealth Grows Stock Holdings in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR)

Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR - Free Report) by 26.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 161,010 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,177 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $20,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EMR. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Emerson Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Emerson Electric in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Emerson Electric during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Emerson Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Emerson Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. 74.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Emerson Electric Stock Performance

NYSE:EMR traded down $1.02 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $120.45. The stock had a trading volume of 2,496,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,896,604. Emerson Electric Co. has a 12-month low of $90.06 and a 12-month high of $134.85. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $118.70. The stock has a market cap of $67.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.26.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.42 billion. Emerson Electric had a net margin of 13.74% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The company's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Emerson Electric Co. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Emerson Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.5275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Emerson Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Emerson Electric news, CEO Surendralal Lanca Karsanbhai sold 16,698 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.33, for a total value of $1,892,384.34. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 164,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,694,576.81. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on EMR shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Emerson Electric from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Emerson Electric from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Daiwa America upgraded Emerson Electric to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on Emerson Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $147.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Emerson Electric from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.88.

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.