Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 8,383 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC sold 8,383 shares of Rockwell Automation, reducing its ownership by 7.4%, now holding 104,962 shares valued at approximately $27.1 million.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in Rockwell Automation, with GAMMA Investing LLC boosting its position by 29,844.4% during the first quarter.
• Rockwell Automation recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.31 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $5.24 and a dividend yield of 1.5%.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 104,962 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 8,383 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.09% of Rockwell Automation worth $27,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 29,844.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 702,794 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $181,588,000 after buying an additional 700,447 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 6.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 56.9% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 935,726 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $267,421,000 after purchasing an additional 339,480 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 289.6% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 416,893 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $119,144,000 after purchasing an additional 309,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 964.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 199,952 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $57,144,000 after purchasing an additional 181,166 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.02, for a total transaction of $160,010.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $866,934.18. This represents a 15.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 551 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total value of $179,796.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,147,726.41. This represents a 4.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,757 shares of company stock worth $3,138,220. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK stock opened at $346.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.01 billion, a PE ratio of 43.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.00 and a 12-month high of $360.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $335.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $293.37.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 11.38%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $360.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. CICC Research began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $341.11.

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.

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