Lmcg Investments LLC Sells 992 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Lmcg Investments LLC lessened its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 992 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $13,153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,247,839,000 after acquiring an additional 11,949 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,683,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $717,865,000 after buying an additional 14,040 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,802,000 after acquiring an additional 390,784 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,128,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $303,041,000 after acquiring an additional 67,684 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK opened at $287.06 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $287.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $274.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $32.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.67, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $307.71.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.64 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ROK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. HSBC raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,436 shares of company stock worth $10,832,549 in the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation 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.