113,831 Shares in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 113,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,532,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 5,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,547,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 32,957 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,419,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,887,000. Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 67.8% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,163 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 874 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ROK shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. 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. KeyCorp upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.68.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 2.5 %

ROK opened at $255.30 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $308.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.87 billion, a PE ratio of 31.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $282.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $278.64. 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 (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total value of $145,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,716.70. This trade represents a 20.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total value of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $490,242.93. The trade was a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.