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

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 77.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,517 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,470 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $9,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $2,033,476,000 after purchasing an additional 432,934 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,734,430 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $779,426,000 after purchasing an additional 51,228 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 430,498 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,036 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $448,701,000 after purchasing an additional 13,744 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK stock traded up $3.82 on Friday, reaching $330.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 917,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 941,386. The company has a market capitalization of $37.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.57, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.38. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.00 and a 12-month high of $331.27. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $295.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $281.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for 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 company's revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is presently 65.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.35, for a total value of $171,134.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $319,819.05. This represents a 34.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 289 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.33, for a total value of $94,309.37. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,042,950.68. The trade was a 8.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,681 shares of company stock valued at $2,382,987 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $327.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. BNP Paribas upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $317.79.

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.