Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,260,000 shares, a growth of 9.1% from the November 30th total of 11,240,000 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,930,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days.

Emerson Electric Stock Performance

Shares of EMR stock opened at $123.93 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $70.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.34. 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 fifty day moving average price of $125.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.19. Emerson Electric has a one year low of $91.64 and a one year high of $134.85.

Emerson Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.5275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. This is a boost from Emerson Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Emerson Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.70%.

Insider Activity at Emerson Electric

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

Institutional Trading of Emerson Electric

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Emerson Electric in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Emerson Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Emerson Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Emerson Electric by 361.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Emerson Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on EMR shares. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Emerson Electric from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Emerson Electric from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Emerson Electric in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $136.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Emerson Electric in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

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.