Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Bought by Grandfield & Dodd LLC

Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,413 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 837 shares during the period. Grandfield & Dodd LLC's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $11,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,896 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $542,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% during the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 7,708 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,992,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. BNP Paribas raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $392.00 target price (up from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $341.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 551 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total value of $179,796.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,147,726.41. This represents a 4.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $299,067.92. This represents a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,757 shares of company stock valued at $3,138,220. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.4%

ROK traded down $1.58 during trading on Friday, hitting $354.91. 222,897 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 863,580. 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 1 year low of $215.00 and a 1 year high of $360.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $323.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $286.79. The firm has a market cap of $40.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.38.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.50 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation's revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.