5,000 Shares in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Purchased by Smith Group Asset Management LLC

Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 5,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,429,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. State Street Corp increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,247,839,000 after buying an additional 11,949 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,683,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $717,865,000 after acquiring an additional 14,040 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 33.5% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 390,784 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 67,684 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.7 %

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $282.27 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $288.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $275.32. The company has a market cap of $31.90 billion, a PE ratio of 34.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $307.71.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The business’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ROK. Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp raised Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.16.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,436 shares of company stock valued at $10,832,549. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Rockwell Automation

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.