NorthRock Partners LLC Invests $276,000 in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

NorthRock Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 966 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ROK. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,074 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,301 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 357.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 37,239 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,643,000 after acquiring an additional 29,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,307 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,802,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of ROK traded down $6.45 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $301.64. The company had a trading volume of 713,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 875,777. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $34.00 billion, a PE ratio of 37.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $215.00 and a one year high of $310.78. The company's fifty day moving average price is $257.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $275.63.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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 Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on ROK. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $310.37.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total transaction of $145,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,716.70. The trade was a 20.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 876 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.03, for a total transaction of $248,810.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at $300,219.71. The trade was a 45.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,839 shares of company stock valued at $2,014,256. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

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.