Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Sells 2,637 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 179,503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,637 shares during the quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned 0.16% of Rockwell Automation worth $51,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 279 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.13, for a total transaction of $82,620.27. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $856,111.83. This represents a 8.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total transaction of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,363,536. The trade was a 8.87 % 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 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stephens upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $268.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $30.32 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $285.72 and a 200-day moving average of $274.96. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $304.29.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. 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.