Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Position Reduced by Cwm LLC

Cwm LLC reduced its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,565 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ROK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,752,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $786,778,000 after buying an additional 70,272 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,908,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $545,474,000 after acquiring an additional 172,577 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,518,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $434,181,000 after acquiring an additional 3,845 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,399,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $399,954,000 after acquiring an additional 43,992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 900,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $279,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,736 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $279.97 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.43. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $252.11 and a fifty-two week high of $348.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business’s 50-day moving average is $282.51 and its 200-day moving average is $283.46.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by ($0.58). The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.98 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian A. Shepherd sold 637 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 5,088 shares in the company, valued at $1,337,482.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $145,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $691,070. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian A. Shepherd sold 637 shares of the company’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,337,482.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,877 shares of company stock worth $5,058,772. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.