MCF Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 95.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,141 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 14,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,008,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 21.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,965,000 after buying an additional 11,996 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 146.5% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 18,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,119,000 after acquiring an additional 11,052 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 70.4% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,890,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,436 shares of company stock worth $10,832,549 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HSBC upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $290.99 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $288.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $274.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $307.71. The firm has a market cap of $32.89 billion, a PE ratio of 35.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 63.29%.

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.