Welch Capital Partners LLC NY Makes New Investment in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Welch Capital Partners LLC NY bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000. Rockwell Automation makes up about 0.1% of Welch Capital Partners LLC NY’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 33,600.1% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,213 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,658,000 after purchasing an additional 294,337 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,908,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $545,474,000 after buying an additional 172,577 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth $38,275,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 35.6% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 484,438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $139,247,000 after acquiring an additional 127,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1,294.7% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 127,891 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,560,000 after acquiring an additional 118,721 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ROK shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Oppenheimer reduced 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $254.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. UBS Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $305.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.08.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK traded down $9.01 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $270.96. The stock had a trading volume of 635,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,008,358. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $252.11 and a 1-year high of $348.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $282.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $283.46. 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 (NYSE:ROK) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 37.22%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.57%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $145,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,383 shares in the company, valued at $691,070. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $145,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,383 shares in the company, valued at $691,070. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian A. Shepherd sold 637 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.87, for a total transaction of $167,448.19. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,337,482.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,877 shares of company stock valued at $5,058,772 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.