Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Has $4.93 Million Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. decreased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,907 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 39 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Security National Bank bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of ROK stock opened at $264.90 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.00 and a 52-week high of $348.52. The company has a market capitalization of $30.20 billion, a PE ratio of 25.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s fifty day moving average is $266.10 and its 200 day moving average is $281.23.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 10.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Rockwell Automation from $310.00 to $304.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company 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 for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $254.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $322.00 to $316.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $305.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 659 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.11, for a total transaction of $171,412.49. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,204,309.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 659 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.11, for a total value of $171,412.49. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,204,309.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 248 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,088,547.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,199 shares of company stock valued at $572,750. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.