Empowered Funds LLC Lowers Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Empowered Funds LLC trimmed its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 56.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,010 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,928 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 95.8% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 99.1% in the fourth 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 period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at $912,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.0% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on ROK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK stock traded down $8.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $294.95. 1,113,483 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 858,529. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $286.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $276.84. The stock has a market cap of $33.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.73, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.35. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $308.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. Research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.26%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other 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 sale, the vice president now owns 1,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at $490,242.93. The trade was a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,240 shares of company stock valued at $10,800,555 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.