Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Bought by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $7,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 17.8% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 12.2% in the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $559,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 242.0% in the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,704 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,059,000 after acquiring an additional 2,621 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.9% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,012 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $861,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 89.2% in the third quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock traded up $1.84 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $277.40. The stock had a trading volume of 602,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,019,294. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $282.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $283.89. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $252.11 and a 12-month high of $348.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $31.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.43.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.62 by ($0.58). Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 37.22%. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. UBS Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $305.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $310.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $145,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $691,070. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Nicholas C. Gangestad sold 1,989 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.17, for a total value of $573,170.13. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,520,572.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $145,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,383 shares in the company, valued at $691,070. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,877 shares of company stock worth $5,058,772 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.