Covington Capital Management Buys 75 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Covington Capital Management boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK – Get Rating) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,650 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the quarter. Covington Capital Management’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Markel Corp boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1.3% in the first quarter. Markel Corp now owns 152,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,816,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 57,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,221,000 after buying an additional 5,386 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at $642,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,472,877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,212,750,000 after buying an additional 106,641 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. Bank of America cut shares of Rockwell Automation from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 27th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Tuesday, February 14th. Finally, Cowen lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $263.24.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $294.30 on Wednesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.08 and a fifty-two week high of $309.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $286.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $260.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $33.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.44.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.65. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 13.63%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.14 EPS. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $1.18 per share. This represents a $4.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 17th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 51.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 4,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.49, for a total transaction of $1,317,081.66. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $350,330.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 4,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.49, for a total transaction of $1,317,081.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $350,330.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Frank C. Kulaszewicz sold 291 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.40, for a total value of $76,940.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,935,594. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,021 shares of company stock valued at $3,188,972 in the last quarter. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Company Profile

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Rockwell Automation, Inc engages in the provision of industrial automation and information services. It operates through the following segments: Intelligent Devices, Software and Control, and Lifecycle Services. The Intelligent Devices segment combines a comprehensive portfolio of smart products that create the foundation of an agile, resilient, and sustainable production system.