Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Buys 4,664 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 184,167 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 4,664 shares during the quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Rockwell Automation worth $47,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,775 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,896 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.8% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,652 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Mendel Money Management lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 2,721 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $332.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 551 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total value of $179,796.81. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 12,711 shares in the company, valued at $4,147,726.41. This represents a 4.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 297 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total transaction of $96,914.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,691 shares in the company, valued at $551,790.21. The trade was a 14.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,388 shares of company stock worth $2,307,487 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:ROK opened at $343.14 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $317.25 and a 200-day moving average of $285.11. The company has a market cap of $38.68 billion, a PE ratio of 43.22, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.38. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $215.00 and a one year high of $348.43.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 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.

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