EFG Asset Management North America Corp. Purchases 821 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 821 shares during the quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $2,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ROK. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.68.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $272.69 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $30.83 billion, a PE ratio of 33.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $279.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $278.79. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,114.56. This trade represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $490,242.93. This represents a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.