LPL Financial LLC Purchases 32,873 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 21.7% during the first quarter, now owning 184,456 shares valued at approximately $47.66 million.
• In recent trading updates, Rockwell Automation received several upgraded price targets from analysts, with JPMorgan raising it from $271 to $299 and Oppenheimer raising it from $304 to $371.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.31, yielding approximately 1.5%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 18th.

LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 21.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 184,456 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 32,873 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.16% of Rockwell Automation worth $47,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 8.5% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,424 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,401,000 after buying an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.7% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 128.7% during the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 4,382 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,466 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 269 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.26, for a total transaction of $95,564.94. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 1,613 shares in the company, valued at $573,034.38. The trade was a 14.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 289 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.33, for a total transaction of $94,309.37. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,042,950.68. This trade represents a 8.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,757 shares of company stock valued at $3,138,220 over the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $341.11.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $351.96 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $333.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $291.90. The company has a market cap of $39.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.38. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. Rockwell Automation's revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 65.99%.

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.

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