Ames National Corp Acquires New Stake in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR)

Ames National Corp bought a new position in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EMR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Emerson Electric by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,536,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,634,837,000 after acquiring an additional 384,313 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $1,443,725,000 after acquiring an additional 232,540 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Emerson Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $885,886,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Emerson Electric by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,676,168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $827,377,000 after buying an additional 370,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in Emerson Electric by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 4,376,492 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $542,379,000 after acquiring an additional 171,946 shares during the period. 74.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Emerson Electric

In related news, CEO Surendralal Lanca Karsanbhai sold 16,698 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.33, for a total transaction of $1,892,384.34. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 164,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,694,576.81. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on EMR shares. Daiwa America raised Emerson Electric to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Emerson Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Emerson Electric from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $99.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Emerson Electric from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.24.

Emerson Electric Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of EMR opened at $117.95 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.35 billion, a PE ratio of 28.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.54. Emerson Electric Co. has a 1 year low of $90.06 and a 1 year high of $134.85.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.42 billion. Emerson Electric had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 13.74%. Emerson Electric’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. Analysts forecast that Emerson Electric Co. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Emerson Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.5275 per share. This represents a $2.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Emerson Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.48%.

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.