Sei Investments Co. Increases Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 18.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 110,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 17,491 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $31,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. West Oak Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $272.69 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $279.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $278.79. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $308.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.83 billion, a PE ratio of 33.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens upgraded Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Three 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,819.50. The trade was a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $490,242.93. This represents a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.