First Foundation Advisors Sells 63 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

First Foundation Advisors lowered its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 63 shares during the period. First Foundation Advisors’ holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $903,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $284,177,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 85,513.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 675,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $193,047,000 after purchasing an additional 674,698 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 102.3% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,287,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $368,021,000 after purchasing an additional 651,116 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $580,095,000 after purchasing an additional 430,498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth about $56,887,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total value of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,633 shares in the company, valued at $490,242.93. This trade represents a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total transaction of $75,500.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,260.96. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,075,923 in the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $300.63.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $230.22 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. The firm has a market cap of $26.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.00 and a 52 week high of $308.70. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $268.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $276.84.

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

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

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.