Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Buys 106,257 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 26.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 514,690 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 106,257 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.46% of Rockwell Automation worth $147,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of ROK traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $258.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,197,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 817,976. The firm has a market cap of $29.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $280.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $278.32.

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Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. As a group, research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 1,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,716.70. This trade represents a 20.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $329,114.56. This trade represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.68.

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.