Cetera Investment Advisers Grows Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,455 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $8,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $294.88 on Monday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.00 and a fifty-two week high of $308.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.34 billion, a PE ratio of 36.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $251.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $273.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.99%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.01, for a total value of $147,505.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $837,238.38. This represents a 14.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,819.50. This represents a 25.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,223,428 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $201.00 to $271.00 in a research note on Thursday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $283.00 to $327.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $308.37.

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.