Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) Shares Sold by Argyle Capital Management Inc.

Argyle Capital Management Inc. cut its position in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) by 17.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 35,249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,300 shares during the period. Emerson Electric makes up 1.4% of Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $3,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its position in Emerson Electric by 255.5% during the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 2,803,881 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $270,771,000 after buying an additional 2,015,232 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Emerson Electric by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,447,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $723,873,000 after buying an additional 1,558,903 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in Emerson Electric by 211.7% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,003,099 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $193,439,000 after buying an additional 1,360,477 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Emerson Electric by 16.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,199,836 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $791,858,000 after buying an additional 1,184,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Emerson Electric by 7.9% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,750,393 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,327,876,000 after buying an additional 1,008,294 shares in the last quarter. 74.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on EMR. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Emerson Electric from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Emerson Electric from $120.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Emerson Electric from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Emerson Electric from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on Emerson Electric from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.25.

Emerson Electric Stock Performance

EMR traded up $0.29 on Friday, hitting $109.89. 1,364,495 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,854,608. The company has a 50 day moving average of $110.38 and a 200-day moving average of $99.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.73 billion, a PE ratio of 5.72, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.37. Emerson Electric Co. has a 12-month low of $76.94 and a 12-month high of $115.26.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) last issued its 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 return on equity of 11.59% and a net margin of 69.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Emerson Electric Co. will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Emerson Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. Emerson Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark A. Blinn sold 2,413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.18, for a total value of $248,973.34. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,591 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,599.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.25% 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.