Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Raises Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,450 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ROK. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $284,177,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 85,513.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 675,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $193,047,000 after purchasing an additional 674,698 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 102.3% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,287,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $368,021,000 after purchasing an additional 651,116 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $580,095,000 after buying an additional 430,498 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,887,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,819.50. This trade represents a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 8.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $239.18 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $237.50 and a 52 week high of $308.70. The company’s 50 day moving average is $276.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $278.48. The company has a market cap of $27.04 billion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.26%.

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.