Fred Alger Management LLC Makes New Investment in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 10,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,981,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at about $284,177,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 85,513.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 675,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $193,047,000 after purchasing an additional 674,698 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 102.3% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,287,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $368,021,000 after purchasing an additional 651,116 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,033,476,000 after purchasing an additional 432,934 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $580,095,000 after buying an additional 430,498 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ROK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $201.00 to $271.00 in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $308.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total transaction of $75,500.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,260.96. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $490,242.93. This trade represents a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,250 shares of company stock worth $1,223,428 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $294.88 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.34 billion, a PE ratio of 36.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $251.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.00 and a 1 year high of $308.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.99%.

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.