Raymond James & Associates Sells 14,755 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Raymond James & Associates cut its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 20.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 14,755 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $15,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,048,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,092,891,000 after acquiring an additional 438,356 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 951.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,532,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,611,915,000 after purchasing an additional 5,006,706 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 32.0% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,510,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $439,912,000 after purchasing an additional 365,795 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.1% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 955,574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $278,387,000 after purchasing an additional 54,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 82.4% in the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 859,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $250,461,000 after purchasing an additional 388,400 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ROK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $256.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $280.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Isaac Woods sold 297 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.38, for a total value of $76,144.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $469,944.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 659 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.11, for a total transaction of $171,412.49. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,204,309.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 297 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.38, for a total value of $76,144.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,944.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,732 shares of company stock worth $445,133. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 3.0 %

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $270.98 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $266.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $272.45. The company has a market capitalization of $30.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 1.37. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $317.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 34.83%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.01 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.88%.

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.