Fox Run Management L.L.C. Invests $574,000 in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Fox Run Management L.L.C. invested approximately $574,000 in Rockwell Automation, acquiring 2,222 shares in the first quarter, highlighting growing institutional interest in the company.
• Rockwell Automation's stock experienced a 1.2% decline, trading at $339.56, as analysts maintain an overall positive outlook with multiple upgrades to "buy" ratings and increasing price targets.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.31 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.5%, demonstrating its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,222 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $574,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ROK. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 29,844.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 702,794 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $181,588,000 after acquiring an additional 700,447 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 432,934 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 56.9% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 935,726 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $267,421,000 after acquiring an additional 339,480 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 289.6% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 309,893 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter worth approximately $63,632,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK traded down $0.3610 on Thursday, reaching $339.2590. The company's stock had a trading volume of 531,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 944,565. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.82, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $340.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $297.42. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.00 and a 12-month high of $360.92.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.15. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 30.14%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.71 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is currently 61.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 551 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total transaction of $179,796.81. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 12,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,147,726.41. The trade was a 4.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,100 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.08, for a total transaction of $735,168.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,033 shares in the company, valued at $361,632.64. This represents a 67.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,818 shares of company stock valued at $1,944,708. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ROK. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $375.00 price target (up from $350.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $371.00 to $363.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $392.00 price target (up from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $340.16.

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.