Benjamin Edwards Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lowered its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 75.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,168 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 9,768 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. 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 buying an additional 432,934 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,819,379 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $470,091,000 after purchasing an additional 191,370 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,579,956 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $408,229,000 after purchasing an additional 9,920 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,391,331 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $397,628,000 after purchasing an additional 171,604 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.6% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 29,350 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on ROK. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. 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 research note on Friday, May 9th. 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 note on Friday, May 16th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $392.00 price target (up from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $340.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 269 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.26, for a total value of $95,564.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $573,034.38. The trade was a 14.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 526 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.35, for a total transaction of $171,134.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 983 shares of the company's stock, valued at $319,819.05. The trade was a 34.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,818 shares of company stock worth $1,944,708. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.2%

ROK stock traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $341.55. 198,613 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 944,110. 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 1-year low of $215.00 and a 1-year high of $360.92. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $339.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $296.36. The company has a market cap of $38.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.15. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 30.14%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. Rockwell Automation's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

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

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.