Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Invests $3.35 Million in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 11,691 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,351,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ROK. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter worth $36,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $83,967.12. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $961,695.36. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,436 shares of company stock valued at $10,832,549 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Stephens upgraded Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.9 %

ROK stock opened at $288.08 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $288.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $275.18. The company has a market capitalization of $32.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $307.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.64 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

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.