Sovran Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,729 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $479,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,227,000 after buying an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,326,000 after buying an additional 933,025 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,802,000 after acquiring an additional 390,784 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 408,336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $116,682,000 after acquiring an additional 88,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,128,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $303,041,000 after acquiring an additional 67,684 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Stephens upgraded Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $308.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,857 shares of company stock worth $10,678,037 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $302.01 on Thursday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $308.70. The stock has a market cap of $34.14 billion, a PE ratio of 36.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $286.07 and a 200-day moving average of $275.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 63.29%.

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.