Lbp Am Sa Invests $5.67 Million in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Lbp Am Sa purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 19,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,672,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth about $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $260.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $308.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $282.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $278.59.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. Equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.68.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total value of $351,364.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,819.50. The trade was a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were 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 owns 1,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $490,242.93. This trade represents a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.