Lmcg Investments LLC Decreases Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Lmcg Investments LLC lowered its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 46,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 992 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $13,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,247,839,000 after purchasing an additional 11,949 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,683,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $717,865,000 after buying an additional 14,040 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% in the third 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 period. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,128,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $303,041,000 after acquiring an additional 67,684 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $287.06 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $32.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.67, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $287.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $274.37. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $307.71.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ROK. HSBC upgraded 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. Stephens upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James P. Keane sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.00, for a total transaction of $592,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,409,328. This represents a 14.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,436 shares of company stock valued at $10,832,549. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.