Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC

Key Points

• Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC reduced its stake in Rockwell Automation shares by 58.4% during the first quarter, cutting its holdings to 824 shares valued at approximately $213,000.
• Multiple analysts have recently upgraded their price targets for Rockwell Automation, with Oppenheimer raising its target from $304 to $371 and Citigroup increasing its target to $392, reflecting a positive outlook for the stock.
• Rockwell Automation announced a quarterly dividend of $1.31 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.5%, highlighting its financial stability amidst fluctuating stock performance.

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC cut its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 58.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 824 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,156 shares during the quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,033,476,000 after purchasing an additional 432,934 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,417,323 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $405,057,000 after purchasing an additional 53,287 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,391,331 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $397,628,000 after purchasing an additional 171,604 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,158,161 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $330,991,000 after purchasing an additional 29,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 56.9% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 935,726 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $267,421,000 after purchasing an additional 339,480 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on ROK shares. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $392.00 price objective (up previously from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $341.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.02, for a total value of $160,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $866,934.18. This trade represents a 15.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 363 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.32, for a total value of $118,454.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,325,838.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,757 shares of company stock worth $3,138,220. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 5.0%

Shares of NYSE:ROK traded down $17.40 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $328.60. 2,196,058 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 935,033. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $335.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $293.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $37.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.00 and a fifty-two week high of $360.92.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.15. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. Rockwell Automation's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.99%.

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.