Jacobs & Co. CA Makes New $272,000 Investment in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Jacobs & Co. CA purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 876 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $272,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 20,052 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,226,000 after purchasing an additional 6,638 shares during the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 13,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,311,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,052,000 after purchasing an additional 2,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 39,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,182,000 after buying an additional 2,854 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret acquired 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $283.64 per share, with a total value of $992,740.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 77,215 shares in the company, valued at $21,901,262.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Rebecca W. House sold 13,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.02, for a total transaction of $3,933,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,400,575.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret purchased 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $283.64 per share, with a total value of $992,740.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,215 shares in the company, valued at $21,901,262.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,877 shares of company stock worth $5,058,772. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $291.21 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $33.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.71, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.43. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $252.11 and a 1 year high of $348.52. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $284.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $284.51.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.62 by ($0.58). Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 37.22%. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ROK shares. Mizuho dropped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. UBS Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $305.00 to $360.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $351.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Berenberg Bank reissued a “hold” rating and set a $290.00 price target (down from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.36.

Rockwell Automation Company Profile

Rockwell Automation, Inc provides industrial automation and digital transformation solutions in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates through three segments, Intelligent Devices, Software & Control, and Lifecycle Services. Its solutions include hardware and software products and services.