Yousif Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 14,253 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 528 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 33.2% during 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 last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 95.8% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 99.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,582 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at about $912,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stephens upgraded Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.2 %

ROK opened at $268.27 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $286.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $275.01. The company has a market capitalization of $30.32 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.35. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $304.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 279 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.13, for a total transaction of $82,620.27. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $856,111.83. The trade was a 8.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was 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 owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,857 shares of company stock worth $10,678,037. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.