Sovran Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Sovran Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 77.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,072 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,876,530 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,965,774,000 after buying an additional 81,079 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,033,476,000 after acquiring an additional 432,934 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,734,430 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $779,426,000 after acquiring an additional 51,228 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $580,095,000 after purchasing an additional 430,498 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,036 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $448,701,000 after purchasing an additional 13,744 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. TD Cowen raised Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. BNP Paribas upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $360.00 price target (up previously from $345.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Friday, June 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $317.79.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $330.03 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $281.59. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $200.00 and a twelve month high of $331.27. 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 has a market capitalization of $37.20 billion, a PE ratio of 41.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 1.38.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.16%. Rockwell Automation's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 223 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.97, for a total value of $70,015.31. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,007,529.73. The trade was a 6.50% 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, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.13, for a total transaction of $760,325.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $314,166.29. This trade represents a 70.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,681 shares of company stock worth $2,382,987. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.