Payden & Rygel Sells 40,400 Shares of Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR)

Payden & Rygel lessened its stake in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) by 31.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 40,400 shares during the quarter. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $10,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EMR. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Emerson Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Emerson Electric during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Emerson Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Emerson Electric during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Emerson Electric during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 74.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Emerson Electric from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Emerson Electric in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Emerson Electric from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Emerson Electric from $137.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.94.

Emerson Electric Stock Performance

Shares of EMR opened at $94.47 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.63. Emerson Electric Co. has a 12 month low of $92.23 and a 12 month high of $134.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.36.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.10. Emerson Electric had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 13.74%. As a group, analysts predict that Emerson Electric Co. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Emerson Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.5275 dividend. This represents a $2.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Emerson Electric’s payout ratio is 50.36%.

About Emerson Electric

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.