West Michigan Advisors LLC Takes Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Key Points

• West Michigan Advisors LLC acquired 839 shares of Rockwell Automation, valued at approximately $217,000, during the first quarter.
• A significant number of other institutional investors have also increased their holdings, with 75.75% of the stock currently owned by hedge funds and institutional investors.
• Rockwell Automation announced a quarterly dividend of $1.31, representing an annualized yield of 1.5%, with the payout scheduled for September 10th.

West Michigan Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 839 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 432,934 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,417,323 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $405,057,000 after acquiring an additional 53,287 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,391,331 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $397,628,000 after acquiring an additional 171,604 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,158,161 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $330,991,000 after acquiring an additional 29,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 56.9% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 935,726 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $267,421,000 after acquiring an additional 339,480 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $371.00 to $363.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $375.00 price objective (up previously from $350.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $345.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $370.00 to $357.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $339.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.35, for a total value of $171,134.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 983 shares of the company's stock, valued at $319,819.05. The trade was a 34.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 297 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total value of $96,914.07. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $551,790.21. This represents a 14.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,257 shares of company stock valued at $2,990,715 in the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $333.67. 874,648 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,011,259. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.00 and a twelve month high of $360.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $336.55 and a 200 day moving average of $293.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 30.14%. The business's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is currently 65.99%.

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.