Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Has $17.76 Million Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC decreased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,907 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC owned 0.05% of Rockwell Automation worth $17,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth $912,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 6.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,184,000 after buying an additional 1,928 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 99.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,482,000 after buying an additional 2,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vicus Capital bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth about $304,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 target price for the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,436 shares of company stock valued at $10,832,549. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:ROK opened at $289.75 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $288.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $274.81. The company has a market cap of $32.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $307.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08.

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

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

About Rockwell Automation

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.