Davis Investment Partners LLC Has $597,000 Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Davis Investment Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. Davis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.3% during the third 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,683,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $717,865,000 after acquiring an additional 14,040 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 6.4% in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.8 %

ROK stock traded up $2.32 during trading on Monday, hitting $275.72. The company had a trading volume of 639,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 601,341. The stock has a market cap of $31.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.30, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $287.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $273.97. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $307.71.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.64 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $83,967.12. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $961,695.36. This trade represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,121 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total transaction of $338,553.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,690,525.54. This trade represents a 1.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,541 shares of company stock valued at $10,586,674 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the subject of several recent research reports. HSBC raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $300.89.

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.