Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Stock Position Raised by Ceredex Value Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 19.8%, purchasing an additional 43,159 shares and now holds 261,121 shares in total, valued at approximately $67.47 million.
• Major institutional investors, including Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec and Allstate Corp, also adjusted their positions, contributing to 75.75% of the stock being owned by institutional investors.
• Rockwell Automation announced a quarterly dividend of $1.31 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.5%, set to be paid to stockholders of record on August 18th.

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 19.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 261,121 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 43,159 shares during the period. Rockwell Automation comprises about 1.5% of Ceredex Value Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned about 0.23% of Rockwell Automation worth $67,468,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 11.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,819,379 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $470,091,000 after buying an additional 191,370 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,579,956 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $408,229,000 after buying an additional 9,920 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,448,160 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $374,176,000 after buying an additional 30,837 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,396,303 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $360,777,000 after buying an additional 4,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $330,991,000 after buying an additional 29,350 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 526 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was 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 approximately $319,819.05. The trade was a 34.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James P. Keane sold 3,000 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.06, for a total value of $1,068,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,192 shares in the company, valued at $3,272,903.52. This represents a 24.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,368 shares of company stock worth $2,871,129 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. Bank of America upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $360.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. CICC Research assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $392.00 target price (up previously from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $340.16.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Thursday, hitting $349.44. The company had a trading volume of 920,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,110,642. The firm has a market cap of $39.29 billion, a PE ratio of 41.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $215.00 and a 1-year high of $360.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $343.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $300.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 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.