Boston Common Asset Management LLC Purchases 552 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $5,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ROK. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 7.5% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 21.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,965,000 after purchasing an additional 11,996 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the second quarter worth $350,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 9.8% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,092 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 7.7% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,899 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $287.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $287.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $274.10. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $307.71. The stock has a market cap of $32.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.67, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.16.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,089,000. The trade was a 21.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,436 shares of company stock worth $10,832,549. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.