Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Lowers Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. cut its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,806 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 99 shares during the period. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. KLCM Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 16.6% in the third quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 1,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.4% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $780,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 676.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 32,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,984,000 after acquiring an additional 28,016 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,266,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 85,551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,562,000 after acquiring an additional 4,093 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of ROK traded up $2.91 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $276.38. 663,711 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,030,275. The stock has a market cap of $31.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $282.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $284.05. 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 0.76, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 1.81%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 47.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $254.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $269.00 to $265.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, January 3rd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $310.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Rockwell Automation news, CFO Nicholas C. Gangestad sold 1,989 shares of the company’s 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 owns 12,217 shares in the company, valued at $3,520,572.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $145,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $691,070. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,877 shares of company stock valued at $5,058,772. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.