Integrated Investment Consultants LLC Boosts Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,398 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,247,839,000 after purchasing an additional 11,949 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,683,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $717,865,000 after buying an additional 14,040 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,802,000 after buying an additional 390,784 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,227,000 after buying an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,128,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $303,041,000 after buying an additional 67,684 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $83,967.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $961,695.36. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,436 shares of company stock valued at $10,832,549 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $287.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $32.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.67, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business’s 50 day moving average is $287.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.10. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $307.71.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.16.

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.