Welch & Forbes LLC Invests $241,000 in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Welch & Forbes LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. State Street Corp increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,247,839,000 after purchasing an additional 11,949 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,683,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $717,865,000 after buying an additional 14,040 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during 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 buying an additional 13,744 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. increased 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 valued at $318,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 67,684 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,819.50. The trade was a 25.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total transaction of $145,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,716.70. This trade represents a 20.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,823 shares of company stock valued at $1,690,564 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ROK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Stephens raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.47.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of ROK opened at $276.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $31.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.44, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $308.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $284.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $278.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. Analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.26%.

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.