First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Boosts Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,410 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. KLCM Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 1,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 676.7% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 32,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,984,000 after purchasing an additional 28,016 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,266,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 85,551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,562,000 after purchasing an additional 4,093 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ROK. 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 report on Thursday, February 1st. Berenberg Bank reiterated 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. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $310.08.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.5 %

ROK opened at $274.05 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $252.11 and a twelve month high of $348.52. The company has a market cap of $31.40 billion, a PE ratio of 26.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $282.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $283.15.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its 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). 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 quarter last year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.57%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.59, for a total transaction of $43,138.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $344,820.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 150 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.59, for a total transaction of $43,138.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $344,820.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret acquired 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $283.64 per share, with a total value of $992,740.00. Following the acquisition, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,240 shares of company stock valued at $4,891,324. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.