Golden State Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 110.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,754 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,876,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,965,774,000 after acquiring an additional 81,079 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,033,476,000 after purchasing an additional 432,934 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,734,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $779,426,000 after purchasing an additional 51,228 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $580,095,000 after buying an additional 430,498 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $448,701,000 after buying an additional 13,744 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $322.62 on Thursday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.00 and a fifty-two week high of $328.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $36.37 billion, a PE ratio of 40.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $293.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $281.40.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.16%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on ROK shares. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. BNP Paribas raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 target price (up from $345.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $283.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.79.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.01, for a total value of $147,505.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $837,238.38. The trade was a 14.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total value of $75,500.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,260.96. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,681 shares of company stock valued at $2,382,987 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.