Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR)

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 71,234 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,336 shares during the quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $8,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EMR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Emerson Electric by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,536,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,634,837,000 after buying an additional 384,313 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Emerson Electric by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,685,615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,443,725,000 after acquiring an additional 232,540 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Emerson Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $885,886,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Emerson Electric by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,013,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $871,083,000 after purchasing an additional 375,470 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in Emerson Electric by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 4,376,492 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $542,379,000 after purchasing an additional 171,946 shares in the last quarter. 74.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EMR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Emerson Electric from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Daiwa Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Emerson Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $147.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Emerson Electric from $158.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Emerson Electric in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Daiwa America raised shares of Emerson Electric to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Emerson Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.72.

Emerson Electric Stock Down 3.5 %

EMR stock opened at $93.53 on Wednesday. Emerson Electric Co. has a 1-year low of $89.36 and a 1-year high of $134.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $116.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $52.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Emerson Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.5275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Emerson Electric’s payout ratio is currently 50.36%.

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.