Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Blair William & Co. IL

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL has reduced its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.9%, holding 289,366 shares valued at approximately $74.77 million after selling 21,560 shares in the first quarter.
• Despite recent changes in ownership, Rockwell Automation is receiving positive momentum from analysts, with multiple upgrades to "buy" ratings and target prices now ranging from $299 to $410.
• The company is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $1.31 per share on September 10th, representing an annualized payout of $5.24, with a current yield of 1.5%.

Blair William & Co. IL trimmed its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 6.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 289,366 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 21,560 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL owned approximately 0.26% of Rockwell Automation worth $74,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ROK. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth about $281,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted 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 during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 14,478 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,872 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 6,785 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,939,000 after acquiring an additional 1,686 shares during the period. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $132,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $360.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. CICC Research began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $341.11.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $344.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $38.82 billion, a PE ratio of 43.38, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.39. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $334.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $292.48. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.00 and a twelve month high of $360.92.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 363 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.32, for a total value of $118,454.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,325,838.16. This trade represents a 8.20% 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 939 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.24, for a total transaction of $285,681.36. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 983 shares of the company's stock, valued at $299,067.92. The trade was a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,757 shares of company stock worth $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.

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