Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $98.47 Million Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. reduced its stake in Rockwell Automation by 8.6%, selling 35,801 shares, and now holds 381,092 shares valued at approximately $98.5 million.
• Rockwell Automation's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $2.82 EPS against a consensus estimate of $2.67, with revenues of $2.14 billion, marking a 4.5% increase year-over-year.
• The company plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $1.31 per share on September 10th, with a dividend yield of 1.6% and a payout ratio of 61.50%.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. trimmed its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 381,092 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 35,801 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.34% of Rockwell Automation worth $98,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citizens National Bank Trust Department bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 59.6% during the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 166 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Rockwell Automation from $371.00 to $363.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $345.00 target price on Rockwell Automation and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $340.16.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK traded down $2.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $339.26. 539,564 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 831,771. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.41. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $345.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $302.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.06. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.00 and a fifty-two week high of $360.92.

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

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is currently 61.50%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,100 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.08, for a total value of $735,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $361,632.64. The trade was a 67.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,435 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.08, for a total value of $499,494.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,318,178.96. This represents a 27.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,445 shares of company stock worth $3,267,779. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

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.