Bill Few Associates Inc. Cuts Stake in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR)

Bill Few Associates Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,910 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Emerson Electric in the third quarter worth $25,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Emerson Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Emerson Electric in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Emerson Electric in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Emerson Electric during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 74.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EMR. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Emerson Electric from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Emerson Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $136.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Emerson Electric from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Emerson Electric from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michael H. Train sold 21,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.96, for a total value of $2,711,289.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 262,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,052,911.68. This represents a 7.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Emerson Electric Stock Up 0.4 %

EMR stock opened at $130.02 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Emerson Electric Co. has a 52 week low of $91.64 and a 52 week high of $134.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.05 billion, a PE ratio of 38.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $126.98 and a 200 day moving average of $115.65.

Emerson Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.5275 dividend. This represents a $2.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. This is an increase from Emerson Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Emerson Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.70%.

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.