Boston Trust Walden Corp Purchases 585 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 585 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $7,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth $26,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth $28,000. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth $29,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Security National Bank acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE ROK traded down $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $262.69. The company had a trading volume of 547,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 958,344. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $317.74. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $265.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $272.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 1.37.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.63. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.83% and a net margin of 13.19%. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 48.88%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 659 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.11, for a total value of $171,412.49. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,204,309.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 528 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 659 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.11, for a total value of $171,412.49. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,204,309.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,732 shares of company stock valued at $445,133. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Mizuho lowered their target price on 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, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $293.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $280.14.

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.