Eastern Bank Boosts Stake in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR)

Eastern Bank grew its holdings in shares of Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) by 18.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 381,919 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 59,850 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank owned 0.07% of Emerson Electric worth $47,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Newport Trust Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of Emerson Electric during the second quarter valued at $574,908,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in Emerson Electric by 10,993.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,070,428 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $226,443,000 after purchasing an additional 2,051,764 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Emerson Electric by 107.2% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,896,889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $422,852,000 after purchasing an additional 2,016,075 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Emerson Electric by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,810,167 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,822,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507,980 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Emerson Electric by 127.3% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,544,439 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $278,285,000 after buying an additional 1,424,800 shares during the period. 74.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael H. Train sold 21,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 262,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,052,911.68. This represents a 7.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Emerson Electric Stock Performance

Shares of EMR traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $118.32. The stock had a trading volume of 1,521,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,295,070. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.60, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $127.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.87. Emerson Electric Co. has a fifty-two week low of $91.64 and a fifty-two week high of $134.85.

Emerson Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.5275 dividend. This represents a $2.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Emerson Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Emerson Electric’s payout ratio is currently 61.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on EMR. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Emerson Electric in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Emerson Electric from $116.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Emerson Electric from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. KeyCorp upped their price target on Emerson Electric from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Emerson Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 1st. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Emerson Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.84.

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.