Stevens Capital Management LP Takes $773,000 Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 2,489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $773,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 17.8% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $559,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 242.0% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,704 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,059,000 after acquiring an additional 2,621 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,012 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $861,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 89.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 1,210 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Brian A. Shepherd sold 637 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.87, for a total value of $167,448.19. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,337,482.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Robert L. Buttermore sold 201 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total value of $55,777.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,311 shares in the company, valued at $641,302.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian A. Shepherd sold 637 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.87, for a total value of $167,448.19. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,337,482.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,877 shares of company stock valued at $5,058,772 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ROK. Mizuho dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $269.00 to $265.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $254.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $310.08.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of ROK traded up $1.39 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $276.95. The stock had a trading volume of 919,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,023,522. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $31.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $282.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $283.89. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $252.11 and a 12-month high of $348.52.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.62 by ($0.58). The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.22% and a net margin of 13.35%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.57%.

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.