Ingalls & Snyder LLC Acquires New Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Ingalls & Snyder LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ROK. Markel Corp raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Markel Corp now owns 152,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,816,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 57,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,221,000 after purchasing an additional 5,386 shares during the period. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth about $642,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,472,877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,212,750,000 after purchasing an additional 106,641 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Brian A. Shepherd sold 637 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.87, for a total value of $167,448.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,337,482.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Brian A. Shepherd sold 637 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.87, for a total transaction of $167,448.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,337,482.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret purchased 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $283.64 per share, with a total value of $992,740.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,901,262.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 17,877 shares of company stock valued at $5,058,772 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $284.82 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $32.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $282.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $284.42. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $252.11 and a 12-month high of $348.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 37.22%. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 12.03 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on ROK. Barclays cut their price target on Rockwell Automation from $269.00 to $265.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 1st. UBS Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $305.00 to $360.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $310.08.

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.