Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Weatherly Asset Management L. P.

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. lowered its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,806 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 99 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,752,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $786,778,000 after purchasing an additional 70,272 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,908,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $545,474,000 after purchasing an additional 172,577 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,518,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $434,181,000 after purchasing an additional 3,845 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,399,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $399,954,000 after purchasing an additional 43,992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 900,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $279,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,736 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on ROK shares. Mizuho lowered their target price on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $254.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Berenberg Bank restated a “hold” rating and issued a $290.00 target price (down from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $305.00 to $360.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.08.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock traded up $2.91 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $276.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 663,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,030,275. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.25. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $282.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $284.05. The firm has a market cap of $31.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.43. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $252.11 and a one year high of $348.52.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by ($0.58). The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.22% and a net margin of 13.35%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 47.57%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Brian A. Shepherd sold 637 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.87, for a total transaction of $167,448.19. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,088 shares in the company, valued at $1,337,482.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret acquired 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $283.64 per share, for a total transaction of $992,740.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 77,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,901,262.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian A. Shepherd sold 637 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.87, for a total value of $167,448.19. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,088 shares in the company, valued at $1,337,482.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,877 shares of company stock worth $5,058,772 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation 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.