Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Bought by Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 15.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $380,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 676.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 32,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,984,000 after buying an additional 28,016 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,266,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 85,551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,562,000 after buying an additional 4,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lincoln National Corp lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 76.5% in the 4th quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 3,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $966,000 after acquiring an additional 1,348 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $290.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $310.00 to $304.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $322.00 to $316.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Berenberg Bank restated a “hold” rating and set a $290.00 target price (down from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $254.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $305.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 248 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.37, for a total value of $63,579.76. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,088,547.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 659 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.11, for a total transaction of $171,412.49. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,204,309.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.37, for a total transaction of $63,579.76. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,088,547.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,199 shares of company stock valued at $572,750 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of ROK opened at $275.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $249.00 and a 1-year high of $348.52. The stock has a market cap of $31.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $266.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $281.60.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.35. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.83% and a net margin of 13.19%. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.01 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.88%.

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.