MQS Management LLC Takes Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 769 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,048,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,092,891,000 after purchasing an additional 438,356 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 82.4% in the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 859,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $250,461,000 after purchasing an additional 388,400 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 33,600.1% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,213 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,658,000 after purchasing an additional 294,337 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 2,932.2% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 246,217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $76,445,000 after purchasing an additional 238,097 shares during the period. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the first quarter worth about $64,635,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ROK. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $312.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Rockwell Automation from $322.00 to $316.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $290.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Rockwell Automation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $300.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 528 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.78, for a total transaction of $133,995.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $943,554.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.37, for a total value of $63,579.76. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,088,547.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 528 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.78, for a total value of $133,995.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $943,554.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,199 shares of company stock valued at $572,750 in the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 3.0 %

Rockwell Automation stock traded up $7.80 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $270.87. The stock had a trading volume of 1,222,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 978,806. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $265.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $277.21. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $249.00 and a 1-year high of $339.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.35. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.83% and a net margin of 13.19%. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.01 EPS. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.88%.

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.