J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Raises Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 128.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,466 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,033,476,000 after acquiring an additional 432,934 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,734,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $779,426,000 after acquiring an additional 51,228 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,417,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $405,057,000 after acquiring an additional 53,287 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,391,331 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $397,628,000 after acquiring an additional 171,604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 102.3% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,287,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $368,021,000 after acquiring an additional 651,116 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $357.83 on Thursday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.00 and a 12 month high of $359.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $327.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $288.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $40.33 billion, a PE ratio of 45.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.38.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 11.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $392.00 price target (up from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, July 14th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $341.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 269 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.26, for a total value of $95,564.94. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $573,034.38. The trade was a 14.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 526 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.35, for a total transaction of $171,134.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $319,819.05. This trade represents a 34.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,757 shares of company stock worth $3,138,220 in the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.