97,205 Shares in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Acquired by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 97,205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,289,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $233,000. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.7% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 22,316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,413,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.3% in the second quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $934,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 17.5% in the second quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 34.2% in the second quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $363.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective (up previously from $350.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $347.94.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, Director James P. Keane sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.06, for a total value of $1,068,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,272,903.52. This trade represents a 24.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $87,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $581,700. The trade was a 13.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 29,553 shares of company stock worth $10,361,079 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.6%

ROK opened at $365.88 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $347.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $325.70. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.00 and a 52 week high of $375.02. The company has a market capitalization of $41.14 billion, a PE ratio of 42.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.15. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 30.14%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 61.50%.

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.