Perbak Capital Partners LLP Makes New Investment in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Perbak Capital Partners LLP invested approximately $552,000 in Rockwell Automation, Inc., acquiring 2,136 shares in the company during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in Rockwell Automation, notably a 29,844.4% increase by GAMMA Investing LLC, which now owns shares valued at $181.6 million.
• The stock has received positive analyst upgrades, with a consensus price target of $340.16, reflecting a generally strong market sentiment towards Rockwell Automation's growth potential.

Perbak Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,136 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $552,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $281,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. AXA S.A. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 579.6% during the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 16,221 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,636,000 after acquiring an additional 13,834 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 7,674 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,193,000 after acquiring an additional 1,385 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 551 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total value of $179,796.81. Following the transaction, the senior vice president 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James P. Keane sold 3,000 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.06, for a total transaction of $1,068,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,272,903.52. This represents a 24.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,445 shares of company stock valued at $3,267,779 in the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ROK shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $345.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Loop Capital increased their target price 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. Bank of America raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. CICC Research assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $340.16.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock traded down $2.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $339.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 539,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 831,771. The company has a market cap of $38.14 billion, a PE ratio of 39.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business has a fifty day moving average of $345.38 and a 200-day moving average of $302.21. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.00 and a 52 week high of $360.92.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.15. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.14% and a net margin of 12.03%.The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 paid 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 61.50%.

Rockwell Automation 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.