Fred Alger Management LLC Buys Shares of 10,430 Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 10,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,981,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 95.8% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,582 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 946 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 357.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 37,239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,643,000 after buying an additional 29,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 181.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 1,351 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.01, for a total transaction of $147,505.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $837,238.38. This trade represents a 14.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,223,428. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.2 %

ROK stock opened at $294.88 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $215.00 and a one year 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $251.89 and its 200 day moving average is $273.72. The firm has a market cap of $33.34 billion, a PE ratio of 36.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ROK. BNP Paribas upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen raised Rockwell Automation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $275.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $308.37.

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.