New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 12,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,437,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 70.7% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at approximately $300,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 12.6% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 79,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,250,000 after acquiring an additional 8,864 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth $1,780,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 149,243 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,066,000 after purchasing an additional 5,844 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,114.56. This trade represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ROK. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. 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. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.42.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $258.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.20 billion, a PE ratio of 32.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $308.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $278.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $278.64.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

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.