Strategic Blueprint LLC Invests $214,000 in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Strategic Blueprint LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ROK. Imprint Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 32,845.0% during the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,254,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $125,455,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,738 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 87,404.1% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,236,433 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,468,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235,020 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $215,125,000. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,741,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $706,004,000 after purchasing an additional 457,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,638,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $774,411,000 after purchasing an additional 320,524 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ROK. UBS Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $305.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Berenberg Bank restated a “hold” rating and set a $290.00 price target (down previously from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $310.08.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, CFO Nicholas C. Gangestad sold 1,989 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.17, for a total transaction of $573,170.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 12,217 shares in the company, valued at $3,520,572.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Rockwell Automation news, CFO Nicholas C. Gangestad sold 1,989 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.17, for a total transaction of $573,170.13. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,520,572.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret acquired 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $283.64 per share, for a total transaction of $992,740.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 77,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,901,262.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,877 shares of company stock worth $5,058,772. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK opened at $284.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $32.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.10, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $282.22 and a 200 day moving average of $284.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.25. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $252.11 and a fifty-two week high of $348.52.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.62 by ($0.58). The company had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 37.22%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 12.03 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 47.57%.

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.