Smith Group Asset Management LLC Makes New $1.43 Million Investment in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 5,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,429,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 70.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 11,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,138,000 after purchasing an additional 4,713 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.4% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 70,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,345,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,349,000. Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 23.6% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 3,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $904,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.7% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 19,882 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,473,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Stephens raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 target price for the company. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $282.27 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $288.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $275.32. The company has a market cap of $31.90 billion, a PE ratio of 34.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $307.71.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.31 dividend. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at $1,363,536. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $83,967.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at $961,695.36. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,436 shares of company stock valued at $10,832,549 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.