Private Advisor Group LLC Raises Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ROK. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $493,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 74.0% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,413 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,976,000. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,807,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 840.4% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 884 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $254.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Citigroup reduced their target price on Rockwell Automation from $322.00 to $316.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $310.00 to $304.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.93.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Rebecca W. House sold 13,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.02, for a total transaction of $3,933,978.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,400,575.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.59, for a total value of $43,138.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $344,820.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rebecca W. House sold 13,900 shares of the company’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,400,575.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,240 shares of company stock valued at $4,891,324 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:ROK opened at $270.50 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $252.11 and a 12-month high of $348.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.43. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $281.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $283.04.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.35. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 37.22%. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.98 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.57%.

About Rockwell Automation

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.