Hartford Investment Management Co. Trims Stock Position in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR)

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its stake in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) by 2.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 34,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 783 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $3,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EMR. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Emerson Electric in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new position in Emerson Electric in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Emerson Electric in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Emerson Electric in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC increased its stake in Emerson Electric by 145.3% in the first quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC now owns 260 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. 74.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EMR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $146.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Emerson Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $113.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Emerson Electric from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.28.

Insider Activity at Emerson Electric

In other news, CEO Surendralal Lanca Karsanbhai sold 16,698 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.33, for a total value of $1,892,384.34. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 164,957 shares in the company, valued at $18,694,576.81. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Emerson Electric Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of EMR opened at $141.68 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $133.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.30. Emerson Electric Co. has a twelve month low of $90.06 and a twelve month high of $150.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.89, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.29.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Emerson Electric had a net margin of 13.60% and a return on equity of 13.22%. The company had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Emerson Electric Co. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Emerson Electric Announces Dividend

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

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.