Davis R M Inc. Acquires 1,607 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Key Points

• Davis R M Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1.8% in Q1, now holding 88,595 shares worth approximately $22.89 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly boosted their holdings, with GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its position by 29,844.4% to over 702,000 shares valued at $181.59 million.
• Rockwell Automation's stock received multiple upgrades from analysts, including a price target increase from $271 to $299 from JPMorgan Chase and a boost from $360 to $410 from Bank of America.

Davis R M Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,595 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,607 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc. owned about 0.08% of Rockwell Automation worth $22,891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth approximately $134,000. Vestcor Inc grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 19.3% during the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 2,304 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter valued at $1,932,000. WIM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Ltd increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 28.9% in the first quarter. WIM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 51,500 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $13,307,000 after buying an additional 11,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter valued at about $1,060,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 363 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.32, for a total transaction of $118,454.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 983 shares in the company, valued at $319,819.05. This represents a 34.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,757 shares of company stock valued at $3,138,220. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK stock traded up $3.25 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $347.75. 307,791 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 919,496. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $215.00 and a one year high of $360.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $334.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.56. 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 (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.16%. Rockwell Automation's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ROK. TD Cowen upgraded 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $392.00 price objective (up from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $341.11.

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.