Uniting Wealth Partners LLC Acquires New Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Uniting Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $457,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $565,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 3,520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth $1,186,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 50.9% in the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 3,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the topic of several research reports. Loop Capital raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.42.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $260.75 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $29.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $277.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $278.76. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $308.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total value of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $490,242.93. This trade represents a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,819.50. This represents a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.