Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Purchased by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1.7%, owning a total of 90,516 shares valued at approximately $23.4 million.
• Insider selling activity included VP Terry L. Riesterer and SVP Tessa M. Myers reducing their ownership by 14.29% and 8.20%, respectively, amidst overall insider sales totaling 8,145 shares valued at over $2.8 million.
• Rockwell Automation recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.31 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.5%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 18th.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 90,516 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,471 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Rockwell Automation worth $23,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Citizens National Bank Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 59.6% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 166 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, Director James P. Keane sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.06, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,435 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.08, for a total value of $499,494.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,318,178.96. This represents a 27.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,445 shares of company stock worth $3,267,779. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ROK shares. Loop Capital upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Rockwell Automation from $371.00 to $363.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $392.00 target price (up previously from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $345.00 price target on Rockwell Automation and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.16.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of ROK stock traded down $2.61 on Friday, reaching $339.26. 539,564 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 831,771. The stock has a market cap of $38.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $345.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $302.21. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $215.00 and a 1-year high of $360.92.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.14% and a net margin of 12.03%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.50%.

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.