Congress Asset Management Co. Has $772,000 Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Congress Asset Management Co. cut its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 29.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,124 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,648 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,326,000 after purchasing an additional 933,025 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,802,000 after purchasing an additional 390,784 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 408,336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $116,682,000 after buying an additional 88,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.4% during the third 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 worth $303,041,000 after buying an additional 67,684 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE ROK opened at $301.03 on Wednesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $308.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $286.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $276.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $34.03 billion, a PE ratio of 36.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced 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 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. Research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,089,000. This represents a 21.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,240 shares of company stock valued at $10,800,555 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.05.

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.