Shellback Capital LP Buys Shares of 105,888 Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Shellback Capital LP bought 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 SEC. The fund bought 105,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,262,000. Rockwell Automation makes up 2.1% of Shellback Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Shellback Capital LP owned approximately 0.09% of Rockwell Automation at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ROK. Robert W. Baird upped 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 876 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.03, for a total value of $248,810.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,219.71. This trade represents a 45.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.13, for a total value of $760,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $314,166.29. This trade represents a 70.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,839 shares of company stock worth $2,014,256. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $307.69 on Friday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $254.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $274.74. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.00 and a 52-week high of $310.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

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 paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.99%.

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.