Curbstone Financial Management Corp Grows Position in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR)

Curbstone Financial Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EMR. Charter Oak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Emerson Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $220,000. Buffington Mohr McNeal raised its position in Emerson Electric by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 2,932 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the period. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Emerson Electric by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 13,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,666,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Bank grew its stake in shares of Emerson Electric by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 2,588 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Emerson Electric by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,588 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $693,000 after buying an additional 1,443 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on EMR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Emerson Electric from $116.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Emerson Electric from $136.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Stephens lowered Emerson Electric from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Emerson Electric from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Emerson Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.89.

Emerson Electric Trading Down 1.3 %

Emerson Electric stock opened at $128.89 on Tuesday. Emerson Electric Co. has a 12-month low of $91.64 and a 12-month high of $134.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.41 billion, a PE ratio of 37.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $127.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

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 paid a dividend of $0.5275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. This is a boost from Emerson Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Emerson Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Michael H. Train sold 21,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.96, for a total transaction of $2,711,289.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.