Xponance Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 17,405 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 14.0% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,863,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at approximately $537,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,966,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at approximately $137,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ROK. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, 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 research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.68.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,819.50. The trade was a 25.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $490,242.93. The trade was a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of ROK stock opened at $260.19 on Thursday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $308.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $280.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $278.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $29.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.40, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid 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 65.26%.

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.