DAVENPORT & Co LLC Acquires 15,571 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 423,907 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 15,571 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC owned about 0.37% of Rockwell Automation worth $109,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,775 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,079,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,896 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 4,195 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,199,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 141 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.8% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,652 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,462,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:ROK traded up $4.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $342.68. 784,227 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 858,435. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.00 and a 12 month high of $343.21. The company has a market cap of $38.63 billion, a PE ratio of 43.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $302.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $282.23.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is currently 65.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 363 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.32, for a total value of $118,454.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,325,838.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 939 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.24, for a total transaction of $285,681.36. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $299,067.92. This trade represents a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,388 shares of company stock worth $2,307,487. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on ROK. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on 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 raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays raised Rockwell Automation from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $283.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, TD Cowen raised 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 report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $324.37.

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.