Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Decreases Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. cut its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 399 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $3,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,247,839,000 after buying an additional 11,949 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,683,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $717,865,000 after purchasing an additional 14,040 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $417,802,000 after purchasing an additional 390,784 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,128,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $303,041,000 after purchasing an additional 67,684 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $302.14 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $34.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $285.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $275.06. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $308.70. 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 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 net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. Equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,857 shares of company stock valued at $10,678,037 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. HSBC raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.