Bellwether Advisors LLC Makes New $158,000 Investment in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $158,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,876,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,965,774,000 after purchasing an additional 81,079 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position 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 valued at $2,033,476,000 after acquiring an additional 432,934 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 51,228 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $580,095,000 after purchasing an additional 430,498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $448,701,000 after purchasing an additional 13,744 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of ROK opened at $248.25 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $257.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $274.45. The company has a market cap of $28.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $215.00 and a one year high of $308.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. Research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.26%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 876 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.03, for a total transaction of $248,810.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,219.71. This represents a 45.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total transaction of $75,500.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,260.96. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,075,923. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. Stephens upgraded Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.11.

Rockwell Automation 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.