Garland Capital Management Inc. Sells 950 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Garland Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 7.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,665 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 950 shares during the period. Rockwell Automation comprises 2.8% of Garland Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Garland Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $3,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 8.5% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,424 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,401,000 after buying an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,063 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $281,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 14,478 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,872 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $8,289,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $283.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. 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. Finally, KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $360.00 price target (up previously from $345.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, June 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $317.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.33, for a total value of $81,582.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $492,431.97. This trade represents a 14.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 297 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 $96,914.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $551,790.21. This trade represents a 14.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,681 shares of company stock worth $2,382,987. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.3%

ROK stock traded down $0.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $320.97. 1,083,786 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 877,072. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.00 and a 52-week high of $328.90. The company has a market cap of $36.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.38. The stock's fifty day moving average is $288.41 and its 200-day moving average is $280.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $2 billion during 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%. The firm's revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.99%.

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.