Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $380,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,752,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $786,778,000 after buying an additional 70,272 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 9.9% during 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 in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,518,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $434,181,000 after buying an additional 3,845 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,399,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $399,954,000 after buying an additional 43,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 900,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $279,626,000 after buying an additional 2,736 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Isaac Woods sold 150 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.59, for a total transaction of $43,138.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,820.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Robert L. Buttermore sold 201 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total transaction of $55,777.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $641,302.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 150 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.59, for a total transaction of $43,138.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,820.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,240 shares of company stock valued at $4,891,324 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ROK shares. Berenberg Bank restated a “hold” rating and set a $290.00 price objective (down from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $312.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Rockwell Automation from $310.00 to $304.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.93.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK traded up $1.55 on Wednesday, reaching $273.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,351,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,023,558. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $281.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $283.11. The company has a market cap of $31.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 37.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.01 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.98 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.57%.

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.