FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Sells 100 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lessened its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 8.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $380,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 676.7% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 32,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,984,000 after purchasing an additional 28,016 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,266,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 85,551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,562,000 after buying an additional 4,093 shares during the period. Finally, Lincoln National Corp increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 76.5% during the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 3,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $966,000 after acquiring an additional 1,348 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.27, for a total value of $127,617.09. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at $1,311,696. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Rockwell Automation news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.27, for a total transaction of $127,617.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,311,696. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 659 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.11, for a total value of $171,412.49. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,204,309.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,199 shares of company stock valued at $572,750 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $264.90 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $266.10 and a 200-day moving average of $281.23. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $249.00 and a one year high of $348.52. The stock has a market cap of $30.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.89, a P/E/G ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued 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 company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.01 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 10.15 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ROK. Berenberg Bank restated a “hold” rating and set a $290.00 price objective (down from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Rockwell Automation from $310.00 to $304.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays cut their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $254.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $305.08.

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.