Eagle Global Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Eagle Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 820 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Team Hewins LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $332,000. Weil Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Weil Company Inc. now owns 10,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,245,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 4,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,515,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,009,000. Finally, FineMark National Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 894 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $310.00 to $304.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $254.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $322.00 to $316.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.93.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, CFO Nicholas C. Gangestad sold 1,989 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.17, for a total transaction of $573,170.13. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 12,217 shares in the company, valued at $3,520,572.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.59, for a total value of $43,138.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $344,820.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Nicholas C. Gangestad sold 1,989 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.17, for a total transaction of $573,170.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,520,572.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,006 shares of company stock worth $4,822,904 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE ROK traded up $2.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $264.18. 592,731 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 945,961. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $252.11 and a 12-month high of $348.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $277.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $283.46. The firm has a market cap of $30.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.82, a P/E/G ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 1.43.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.35. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 34.83%. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 10.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.88%.

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.