Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) by 17.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,242 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tobam lifted its holdings in shares of Emerson Electric by 2,275.0% during the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc purchased a new position in Emerson Electric in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Security National Bank purchased a new position in Emerson Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Emerson Electric by 148.0% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Emerson Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 74.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on EMR shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Emerson Electric from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Emerson Electric from $120.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Emerson Electric from $106.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark A. Blinn sold 2,413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.18, for a total value of $248,973.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $989,599.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Emerson Electric Stock Performance

Shares of EMR stock traded down $1.97 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $107.79. 3,963,033 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,616,993. Emerson Electric Co. has a 12 month low of $76.94 and a 12 month high of $115.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $110.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.53 billion, a PE ratio of 5.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.37.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.18. Emerson Electric had a net margin of 69.33% and a return on equity of 11.59%. The firm had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Emerson Electric Co. will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

Emerson Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. Emerson Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.94%.

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.