Raymond James & Associates Sells 14,755 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Raymond James & Associates reduced its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 20.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 55,753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 14,755 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $15,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,048,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,092,891,000 after buying an additional 438,356 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 951.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,532,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,611,915,000 after purchasing an additional 5,006,706 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 32.0% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,510,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $439,912,000 after purchasing an additional 365,795 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.1% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 955,574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $278,387,000 after purchasing an additional 54,948 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 82.4% in the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 859,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $250,461,000 after purchasing an additional 388,400 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $280.14.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $270.98 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $317.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $266.52 and a 200 day moving average of $272.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $30.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 1.37.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.63. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 34.83%. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.88%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 528 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.78, for a total transaction of $133,995.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,718 shares in the company, valued at $943,554.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 248 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.37, for a total value of $63,579.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,246 shares in the company, valued at $1,088,547.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 528 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.78, for a total transaction of $133,995.84. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $943,554.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,732 shares of company stock worth $445,133 in the last ninety days. 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.