Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Increases Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,047 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,955 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $5,729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ROK. Norges Bank bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $284,177,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 85,513.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 675,487 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $193,047,000 after buying an additional 674,698 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 102.3% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,287,731 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $368,021,000 after buying an additional 651,116 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 432,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $580,095,000 after buying an additional 430,498 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.13, for a total transaction of $760,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,033 shares in the company, valued at $314,166.29. The trade was a 70.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,838 shares of the company's stock, valued at $837,238.38. This trade represents a 14.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,405 shares of company stock worth $1,640,796 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the topic of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays raised Rockwell Automation from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $283.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, May 30th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $316.21.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK stock traded up $4.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $324.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 750,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 878,295. The company has a market capitalization of $36.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.38. The company's fifty day moving average is $270.57 and its 200-day moving average is $278.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.00 and a 1 year high of $326.65.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 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.