Howard Capital Management Inc. Invests $212,000 in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Howard Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 743 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 33.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $417,802,000 after acquiring an additional 390,784 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 408,336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $116,682,000 after buying an additional 88,962 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 229.5% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 102,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,250,000 after buying an additional 71,288 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.4% during the third 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 valued at $303,041,000 after buying an additional 67,684 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Loop Capital upped 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. Citigroup increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.55.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK opened at $288.58 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $286.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $278.00. The firm has a market cap of $32.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.94, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.35. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve 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 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. Equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $490,242.93. The trade was a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares in the company, 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 6,540 shares of company stock worth $1,935,134 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.