River Global Investors LLP Invests $3.10 Million in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

River Global Investors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,104,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. KLCM Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 1,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $780,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 676.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 32,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,984,000 after buying an additional 28,016 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,266,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 85,551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,562,000 after acquiring an additional 4,093 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. Berenberg Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $290.00 price objective (down from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $254.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $310.08.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock traded up $4.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $274.05. 996,030 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 859,440. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.25. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $252.11 and a 52 week high of $348.52. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $282.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $283.15. The company has a market cap of $31.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.43.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.62 by ($0.58). The company had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 37.22%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret purchased 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $283.64 per share, with a total value of $992,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,901,262.60. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Nicholas C. Gangestad sold 1,989 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.17, for a total transaction of $573,170.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,520,572.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret purchased 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $283.64 per share, for a total transaction of $992,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 77,215 shares in the company, valued at $21,901,262.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 17,240 shares of company stock valued at $4,891,324 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.