HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Purchases 499 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,570 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 499 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $300,000. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 13.2% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 9.7% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth about $589,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ROK shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. HSBC raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.42.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $258.42 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $29.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $278.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $278.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $308.70.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,819.50. This trade represents a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was 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 directly owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $490,242.93. The trade was a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.