Columbia Asset Management Trims Stock Position in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR)

Columbia Asset Management trimmed its stake in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,134 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 359 shares during the period. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $1,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Emerson Electric by 120.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 56,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,162,000 after purchasing an additional 30,741 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Emerson Electric by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,453,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,247,570,000 after acquiring an additional 162,985 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Emerson Electric by 94.8% during the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 9,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,141,000 after acquiring an additional 4,480 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Emerson Electric by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 82,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,187,000 after purchasing an additional 6,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Emerson Electric by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 26,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,283,000 after purchasing an additional 3,054 shares during the period. 74.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Emerson Electric Stock Performance

Shares of EMR stock opened at $109.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $120.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market cap of $62.00 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.36. Emerson Electric Co. has a 1 year low of $96.62 and a 1 year high of $134.85.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Emerson Electric Co. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Emerson Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.92%. Emerson Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Emerson Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Emerson Electric from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on Emerson Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $147.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $137.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded shares of Emerson Electric to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Emerson Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.94.

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.