Sandy Spring Bank Sells 179 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Sandy Spring Bank lowered its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 179 shares during the quarter. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $3,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised 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 valued at $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,582 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,184,000 after acquiring an additional 1,928 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 462,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $132,554,000 after acquiring an additional 25,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total value of $255,178.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $490,242.93. This represents a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total value of $145,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,716.70. This represents a 20.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $257.91 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $308.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $280.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $278.41.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ROK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. KeyCorp raised Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.68.

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.