Kwmg LLC Has $5.97 Million Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Kwmg LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the quarter. Kwmg LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $5,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 33.2% in the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at $912,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,184,000 after acquiring an additional 1,928 shares in the last quarter. Vicus Capital acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth $304,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 462,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $132,554,000 after purchasing an additional 25,882 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $83,967.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at $961,695.36. This trade represents a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,541 shares of company stock valued at $10,586,674. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ROK. HSBC raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. BNP Paribas started 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $300.89.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK stock traded up $2.32 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $275.72. 473,280 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 567,750. 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 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $307.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $287.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $273.97.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

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.