Howland Capital Management LLC Sells 310 Shares of Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR)

Howland Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 310 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $2,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Emerson Electric by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 6,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Emerson Electric by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 20,823 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,581,000 after purchasing an additional 6,079 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Emerson Electric by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 212,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,271,000 after purchasing an additional 5,504 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. increased its holdings in Emerson Electric by 299.5% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 376,329 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,040,000 after purchasing an additional 282,126 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Emerson Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $719,000. Institutional investors own 74.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Emerson Electric from $146.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America upped their target price on Emerson Electric from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on Emerson Electric from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Stephens upped their target price on Emerson Electric from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Emerson Electric from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.28.

Emerson Electric Stock Performance

EMR stock opened at $145.37 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.77 billion, a PE ratio of 34.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.29. Emerson Electric Co. has a 12-month low of $90.06 and a 12-month high of $150.27. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.15.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.48 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $4.42 billion. Emerson Electric had a return on equity of 13.22% and a net margin of 13.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Emerson Electric Co. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Emerson Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.5275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Emerson Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 50.48%.

Insider Transactions at Emerson Electric

In related news, CEO Surendralal Lanca Karsanbhai sold 16,698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 164,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,694,576.81. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.