Welch & Forbes LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR)

Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its stake in shares of Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 138,923 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,721 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $13,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tobam grew its position in Emerson Electric by 2,275.0% during the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of Emerson Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Emerson Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in Emerson Electric by 1,484.6% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Emerson Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.30% of the company’s stock.

Emerson Electric Price Performance

EMR stock traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $107.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,896,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,781,271. The stock has a market cap of $61.32 billion, a PE ratio of 5.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Emerson Electric Co. has a fifty-two week low of $76.94 and a fifty-two week high of $115.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $110.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.95.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.91 billion. Emerson Electric had a net margin of 69.33% and a return on equity of 11.59%. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Emerson Electric Co. will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

Emerson Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Emerson Electric’s payout ratio is currently 10.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark A. Blinn sold 2,413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.18, for a total transaction of $248,973.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $989,599.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EMR. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Emerson Electric from $118.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on Emerson Electric from $120.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Emerson Electric from $106.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on shares of Emerson Electric from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on Emerson Electric from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.07.

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.