Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Position Increased by Cedar Point Capital Partners LLC

Cedar Point Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 29.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Cedar Point Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at approximately $912,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings 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 worth $9,184,000 after buying an additional 1,928 shares in the last quarter. Vicus Capital acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $304,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 5.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 25,882 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,121 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $24,690,525.54. This represents a 1.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,436 shares of company stock worth $10,832,549 over the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.6 %

ROK stock opened at $289.09 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $288.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $274.81. The company has a market cap of $32.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.91, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $307.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.16.

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.