Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Bought by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 66.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 2,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at $996,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 7.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 10,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 92.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 109,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,356,000 after buying an additional 52,450 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total value of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total value of $255,178.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $490,242.93. The trade was a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,645 shares of company stock worth $1,321,798. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Three research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.42.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $227.38 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $273.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $278.17. The company has a market cap of $25.71 billion, a PE ratio of 28.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $215.71 and a 1-year high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.26%.

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.