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

EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 393 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. XML Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.6% in the first quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Connective Portfolio Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter worth $1,034,000. Cabot Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.4% in the first quarter. Cabot Wealth Management Inc. now owns 48,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,526,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Covea Finance grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 73.4% in the first quarter. Covea Finance now owns 58,823 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,199,000 after acquiring an additional 24,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverbridge Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.0% in the first quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 7,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,820,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 289 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.33, for a total transaction of $94,309.37. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,196 shares in the company, valued at $1,042,950.68. The trade was a 8.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total transaction of $75,500.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,260.96. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 7,681 shares of company stock valued at $2,382,987. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $320.97 on Monday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $215.00 and a 1-year high of $328.90. The stock has a market cap of $36.18 billion, a PE ratio of 40.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $288.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $280.60.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ROK. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $283.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.79.

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.