L & S Advisors Inc Purchases New Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

L & S Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 24,727 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,067,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at approximately $300,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 79,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,250,000 after purchasing an additional 8,864 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth $1,780,000. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 13.2% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 4.5% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 9,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,598,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $258.22 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $278.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $278.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $308.70. The firm has a market cap of $29.20 billion, a PE ratio of 32.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. Equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $351,364.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,819.50. This represents a 25.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.42.

About Rockwell Automation

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.