Congress Asset Management Co. MA Sells 347 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Congress Asset Management Co. MA reduced its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,867 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 347 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $11,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Security National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE ROK traded down $2.00 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $258.52. The stock had a trading volume of 2,069,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 711,797. The firm has a market cap of $29.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 1.37. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $249.00 and a twelve month high of $348.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $267.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $281.98.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.35. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 34.83%. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.01 EPS. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 48.88%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 528 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.78, for a total transaction of $133,995.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,718 shares in the company, valued at $943,554.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 528 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.78, for a total transaction of $133,995.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,718 shares in the company, valued at $943,554.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 659 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.11, for a total transaction of $171,412.49. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,204,309.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,199 shares of company stock worth $572,750 in the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $310.00 to $304.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $312.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $254.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $322.00 to $316.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.21.

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.