Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Decreases Position in Emerson Electric Co. $EMR

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its position in shares of Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 181,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,150 shares during the period. Emerson Electric accounts for about 0.7% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $23,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Emerson Electric by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,850,000 after buying an additional 3,308 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Emerson Electric by 74.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,286,755 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $171,563,000 after acquiring an additional 548,795 shares during the period. Davis Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Emerson Electric in the second quarter valued at $692,000. CORDA Investment Management LLC. purchased a new stake in Emerson Electric during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,173,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Emerson Electric by 5.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,600,518 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $480,057,000 after buying an additional 172,507 shares in the last quarter. 74.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EMR. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Daiwa Capital Markets upped their price target on Emerson Electric from $150.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (down from $150.00) on shares of Emerson Electric in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Emerson Electric from $127.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.06.

Emerson Electric Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of EMR stock opened at $135.27 on Tuesday. Emerson Electric Co. has a twelve month low of $90.06 and a twelve month high of $150.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $133.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.09. The company has a market capitalization of $76.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter. Emerson Electric had a net margin of 12.73% and a return on equity of 15.87%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts forecast that Emerson Electric Co. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Emerson Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Emerson Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. Emerson Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 54.95%.

Emerson Electric announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Surendralal Lanca Karsanbhai sold 7,263 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.00, for a total value of $965,979.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 196,292 shares in the company, valued at $26,106,836. This trade represents a 3.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Emerson Electric Company Profile

Emerson Electric Co is a global technology and engineering company that designs and manufactures products and provides services for industrial, commercial and consumer markets. Founded in 1890, the company is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, and has built a long-standing presence in automation, control and climate-related technologies. Emerson’s offerings are aimed at improving productivity, energy efficiency and reliability for a wide range of end markets.

Emerson operates through two principal platforms—Automation Solutions and Commercial & Residential Solutions—providing process automation systems, measurement and analytical instrumentation, valves and actuators, control software, and related aftermarket services, alongside products for heating, ventilation and refrigeration, residential and commercial climate controls, tools and storage solutions.