Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Daiwa America

Daiwa America upgraded shares of Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Stephens cut shares of Emerson Electric from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Emerson Electric from $137.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Emerson Electric from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Emerson Electric from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Emerson Electric from $139.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $136.45.

Emerson Electric Stock Performance

EMR stock traded up $1.56 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $130.41. 1,789,073 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,837,990. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $74.27 billion, a PE ratio of 38.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.35. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $127.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.28. Emerson Electric has a 1 year low of $91.64 and a 1 year high of $134.85.

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 given a $0.5275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from Emerson Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Emerson Electric's dividend payout ratio is 61.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Emerson Electric

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EMR. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Emerson Electric by 6.2% during the third 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 last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Emerson Electric by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,552,544 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,591,612,000 after acquiring an additional 581,102 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Emerson Electric by 1.4% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 162,985 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Emerson Electric by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,013,550 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $871,083,000 after acquiring an additional 375,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Emerson Electric by 107.2% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,896,889 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $422,852,000 after buying an additional 2,016,075 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.30% of the company's stock.

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.