Aviance Capital Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,398 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth about $27,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ROK. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $269.00 to $265.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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. Berenberg Bank restated a “hold” rating and set a $290.00 target price (down from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $310.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $145,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $691,070. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret purchased 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $283.64 per share, for a total transaction of $992,740.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,901,262.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $145,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $691,070. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,240 shares of company stock worth $4,891,324. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.9 %

ROK stock traded down $5.35 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $272.04. The stock had a trading volume of 2,375,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,019,828. The business has a 50-day moving average of $281.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $283.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $31.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.43. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $252.11 and a 52-week high of $348.52.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.35. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 37.22%. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 47.57%.

Rockwell Automation 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.