FORA Capital LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

FORA Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 77.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,772 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 13,150 shares during the quarter. FORA Capital LLC's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. West Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 455.6% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total value of $351,364.33. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,819.50. This represents a 25.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,500 shares of Rockwell Automation 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 approximately $314,166.29. This trade represents a 70.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,689 shares of company stock valued at $2,269,435. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ROK shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $283.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. BNP Paribas raised Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. TD Cowen upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $308.37.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK traded up $4.99 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $299.79. 1,867,643 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 873,453. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.00 and a twelve month high of $308.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $252.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $274.02. The stock has a market cap of $33.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.33, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 30.17%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.