TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 8.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 211,885 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,310 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Rockwell Automation worth $54,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,876,530 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,965,774,000 after buying an additional 81,079 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings 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 valued at $2,033,476,000 after acquiring an additional 432,934 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,734,430 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $779,426,000 after acquiring an additional 51,228 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,391,331 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $397,628,000 after purchasing an additional 171,604 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.13, for a total value of $760,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 1,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,166.29. This represents a 70.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 363 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,325,838.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,388 shares of company stock valued at $2,307,487 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $371.00 to $392.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen raised Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $333.11.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE:ROK traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $343.31. 662,860 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 931,177. The company has a market cap of $38.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.38. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $317.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $285.05. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.00 and a 52-week high of $348.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 11.38%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.