Legacy Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Legacy Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 32.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,876,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,965,774,000 after acquiring an additional 81,079 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,033,476,000 after buying an additional 432,934 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,734,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $779,426,000 after buying an additional 51,228 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $580,095,000 after buying an additional 430,498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $448,701,000 after buying an additional 13,744 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 526 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.35, for a total value of $171,134.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $319,819.05. This trade represents a 34.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.97, for a total value of $70,015.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,007,529.73. This represents a 6.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,681 shares of company stock valued at $2,382,987 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on ROK shares. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 price target (up previously from $345.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $327.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.79.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $322.62 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $293.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $281.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.63, a PEG ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $215.00 and a 1-year high of $328.90.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict 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 will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.99%.

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.