Davis R M Inc. Boosts Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Davis R M Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,607 shares during the quarter. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $22,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 8.5% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,424 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,401,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,063 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.8% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at about $281,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. CICC Research started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $381.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen raised Rockwell Automation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $341.11.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $351.16 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $332.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.38. The firm has a market cap of $39.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.38. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.00 and a 12 month high of $360.92.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.99%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 289 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.33, for a total transaction of $94,309.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,196 shares in the company, valued at $1,042,950.68. The trade was a 8.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 269 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.26, for a total transaction of $95,564.94. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $573,034.38. The trade was a 14.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,757 shares of company stock valued at $3,138,220 over the last 90 days. Company 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.