Xponance Inc. Acquires 374 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,405 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 374 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $580,095,000 after buying an additional 430,498 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $417,802,000 after buying an additional 390,784 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $56,887,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,532,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 514,690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $147,093,000 after purchasing an additional 106,257 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on ROK shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.68.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total transaction of $145,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,716.70. This represents a 20.79 % 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 the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $490,242.93. The trade was a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $260.19 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $280.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $278.55. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $308.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.42 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. 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 (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.26%.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.