Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $32.39 Million Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 113,345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 721 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.10% of Rockwell Automation worth $32,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 95.8% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 99.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after buying an additional 2,582 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at $912,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,184,000 after buying an additional 1,928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 462,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $132,554,000 after buying an additional 25,882 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ROK shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.68.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the company’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 transaction of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,819.50. This represents a 25.22 % 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. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $260.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $282.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $278.70. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $308.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $29.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. Analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

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.