Congress Asset Management Co. Sells 1,124 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Congress Asset Management Co. trimmed its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 29.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,124 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,960,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 89.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.0% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 112,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,235,000 after purchasing an additional 2,247 shares during the last quarter. Jade Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at $1,611,000. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 4.6% in the third quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,721,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK opened at $301.03 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $286.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $276.17. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $308.70. The company has a market capitalization of $34.03 billion, a PE ratio of 36.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. Research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $490,242.93. This represents a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,240 shares of company stock valued at $10,800,555 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.