Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Holdings Lifted by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 737.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,658 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 23,476 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $8,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SouthState Corp grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 39,511 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,267,000 after purchasing an additional 4,395 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 32,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,125 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 10,827 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,362,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 100,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coombe Bender & Co LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at about $189,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, CFO Nicholas C. Gangestad sold 1,989 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.17, for a total value of $573,170.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 12,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,520,572.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Robert L. Buttermore sold 201 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total value of $55,777.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $641,302.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Nicholas C. Gangestad sold 1,989 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.17, for a total value of $573,170.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,217 shares in the company, valued at $3,520,572.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,240 shares of company stock valued at $4,891,324 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ROK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $254.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup reduced their price target on Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $290.00 price target (down previously from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $310.08.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK traded up $4.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $274.05. 991,344 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,004,249. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $252.11 and a 1-year high of $348.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.08, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $282.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $283.15.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.62 by ($0.58). The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 37.22%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.57%.

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.