EP Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 89,045 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Rockwell Automation worth $25,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,876,530 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,965,774,000 after purchasing an additional 81,079 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,033,476,000 after acquiring an additional 432,934 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,734,430 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $779,426,000 after acquiring an additional 51,228 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $580,095,000 after purchasing an additional 430,498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,036 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $448,701,000 after purchasing an additional 13,744 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Loop Capital upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $201.00 to $271.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $308.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,041,819.50. This trade represents a 25.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.01, for a total transaction of $147,505.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,838 shares in the company, valued at $837,238.38. This trade represents a 14.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,223,428. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of ROK stock traded up $3.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $294.88. 1,024,672 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 870,563. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $33.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.00 and a fifty-two week high of $308.70. The stock's 50 day moving average is $251.89 and its 200-day moving average is $273.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 65.99%.

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.