Welch & Forbes LLC Invests $241,000 in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Welch & Forbes LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,648 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,802,000 after purchasing an additional 390,784 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at $56,887,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth $32,532,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 408,336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $116,682,000 after buying an additional 88,962 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $961,695.36. This trade represents a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total value of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,819.50. The trade was a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,823 shares of company stock valued at $1,690,564 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $276.55 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $284.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $278.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, 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 $308.70. The firm has a market cap of $31.27 billion, a PE ratio of 34.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.47.

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.