Plato Investment Management Ltd Acquires 3,550 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 59,166.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,550 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ROK. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth $31,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth $32,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth $34,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 59.6% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James P. Keane sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director owned 9,192 shares in the company, valued at $3,272,903.52. The trade was a 24.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 365 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.44, for a total transaction of $127,180.60. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 1,691 shares in the company, valued at $589,212.04. This represents a 17.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 30,375 shares of company stock valued at $10,661,109 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $375.00 target price (up previously from $350.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $363.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $347.94.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $368.89 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $41.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.30, a P/E/G 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.00 and a twelve month high of $375.02. The company’s fifty day moving average is $348.01 and its 200 day moving average is $327.99.

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

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This is a positive change 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.