Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Sells 7,907 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,907 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $17,764,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 14,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,008,000 after acquiring an additional 1,013 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 146.5% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 18,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,119,000 after purchasing an additional 11,052 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 70.4% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,890,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 8.1% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,385,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at $961,695.36. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,436 shares of company stock valued at $10,832,549 in the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ROK. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. Two equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $289.75 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $288.37 and a 200-day moving average of $274.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.75 billion, a PE ratio of 34.97, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $307.71. 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 posted 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 firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

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.