L & S Advisors Inc Buys Shares of 24,727 Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 24,727 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,067,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $284,177,000. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $580,095,000 after acquiring an additional 430,498 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,887,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,532,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 514,690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $147,093,000 after purchasing an additional 106,257 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $490,242.93. The trade was a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total value of $351,364.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,819.50. The trade was a 25.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens upgraded Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.42.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $258.22 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $278.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $278.76. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $308.70. The firm has a market cap of $29.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. On average, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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

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.