Voloridge Investment Management LLC Cuts Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 46.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,361 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 52,168 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned 0.05% of Rockwell Automation worth $17,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,907 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,372 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,295 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $942,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Marathon Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $429,000. Finally, Bill Few Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 13,863 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,962,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on ROK shares. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $310.37.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $313.08. The stock had a trading volume of 334,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 875,351. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.29 billion, a PE ratio of 38.99, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.00 and a twelve month high of $314.75. The stock's 50 day moving average is $262.02 and its 200 day moving average is $276.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company's revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.99%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 876 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at $300,219.71. This represents a 45.32% 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, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total value of $351,364.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,041,819.50. This trade represents a 25.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,839 shares of company stock worth $2,014,256 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.