Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Has $8.28 Million Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 737.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 26,658 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 23,476 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $8,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ROK. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33,600.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,213 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,658,000 after buying an additional 294,337 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,908,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $545,474,000 after buying an additional 172,577 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth $38,275,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 35.6% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 484,438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $139,247,000 after buying an additional 127,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,294.7% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 127,891 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,560,000 after buying an additional 118,721 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $145,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $691,070. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $145,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $691,070. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Rebecca W. House sold 13,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.02, for a total transaction of $3,933,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,400,575.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,240 shares of company stock worth $4,891,324 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE ROK traded up $4.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $274.05. 991,344 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,004,249. The business’s fifty day moving average is $282.21 and its 200 day moving average is $283.15. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $252.11 and a fifty-two week high of $348.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.62 by ($0.58). Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 37.22%. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $254.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $269.00 to $265.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Berenberg Bank reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $290.00 price objective (down previously from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $310.08.

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.