Rockland Trust Co. Acquires 1,769 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Rockland Trust Co. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 6.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,161 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,769 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.'s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $7,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 141 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.01, for a total value of $147,505.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $837,238.38. This trade represents a 14.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total transaction of $75,500.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at $495,260.96. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,681 shares of company stock worth $2,382,987 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $283.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $327.00 to $371.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $317.79.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE:ROK traded down $7.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $317.36. 696,490 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 884,068. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.00 and a fifty-two week high of $328.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $279.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $279.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.52, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.38.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. Rockwell Automation's revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is presently 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.