GAMMA Investing LLC Sells 103 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

GAMMA Investing LLC lowered its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 14.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 103 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $183,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,752,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $786,778,000 after acquiring an additional 70,272 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,399,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $399,954,000 after acquiring an additional 43,992 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 900,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $279,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,736 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 678,442 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,644,000 after acquiring an additional 19,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 645,485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $200,410,000 after acquiring an additional 35,070 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on ROK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $254.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $290.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $312.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank restated a “hold” rating and set a $290.00 target price (down previously from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.21.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $260.53 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $249.00 and a twelve month high of $348.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $267.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $282.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 1.37.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.35. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 34.83%. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.01 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.27, for a total value of $127,617.09. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,311,696. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.27, for a total transaction of $127,617.09. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,311,696. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 528 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.78, for a total transaction of $133,995.84. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,718 shares in the company, valued at $943,554.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,199 shares of company stock valued at $572,750 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.