Carmel Capital Partners LLC Raises Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Carmel Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 482 shares during the period. Rockwell Automation makes up approximately 0.8% of Carmel Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Carmel Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $2,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 33,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,102,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 30.9% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 849 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $99,000. Graypoint LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 204,679 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,948,000 after buying an additional 11,161 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ROK. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BNP Paribas cut Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.55.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $273.79 on Thursday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $308.70. The stock has a market cap of $30.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $284.98 and a 200-day moving average of $278.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. As a group, analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,823 shares of company stock worth $1,690,564. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.