Van Strum & Towne Inc. Decreases Stake in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR)

Van Strum & Towne Inc. reduced its position in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 545 shares during the period. Emerson Electric accounts for about 1.7% of Van Strum & Towne Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Van Strum & Towne Inc.’s holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $5,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EMR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Emerson Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $885,886,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its stake in Emerson Electric by 3,866.2% during 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 worth $374,581,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946,310 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Emerson Electric by 210.8% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,966,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $215,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,333,839 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Emerson Electric by 12,707.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,126,441 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Emerson Electric by 230,061.8% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 819,376 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $101,545,000 after acquiring an additional 819,020 shares during the last quarter. 74.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on EMR shares. Stephens boosted their price objective on Emerson Electric from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Emerson Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. TD Cowen raised Emerson Electric to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Emerson Electric from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Emerson Electric from $146.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.28.

Emerson Electric Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of EMR traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $144.42. 126,280 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,986,377. Emerson Electric Co. has a 1 year low of $90.06 and a 1 year high of $145.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $128.27 and its 200-day moving average is $119.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.29.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) last issued 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. Emerson Electric had a return on equity of 13.22% and a net margin of 13.60%. The firm had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Emerson Electric Co. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Emerson Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $0.5275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Emerson Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.48%.

Insider Transactions at Emerson Electric

In related news, CEO Surendralal Lanca Karsanbhai sold 16,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 164,957 shares in the company, valued at $18,694,576.81. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Emerson Electric Company 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.