Nwam LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Nwam LLC trimmed its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 66.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,021 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,996 shares during the period. Nwam LLC's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,775 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,079,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in 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 buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in 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. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased 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 valued at $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.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.2%

ROK traded up $0.89 on Thursday, hitting $358.88. The company had a trading volume of 197,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 921,792. The firm has a market cap of $40.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.19, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.38. 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's fifty day moving average price is $327.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $288.74. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.00 and a 1 year high of $360.92.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 65.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ROK. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $392.00 price target (up from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 14th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $341.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.35, for a total transaction of $171,134.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 983 shares in the company, valued at $319,819.05. This represents a 34.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 297 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total value of $96,914.07. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,691 shares in the company, valued at $551,790.21. This represents a 14.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,757 shares of company stock valued at $3,138,220 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

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.