Merit Financial Group LLC Cuts Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Merit Financial Group LLC decreased its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,533 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 219 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,063 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth $281,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 14,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,872 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 119.7% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after buying an additional 3,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $479,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.02, for a total value of $160,010.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $866,934.18. The trade was a 15.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 939 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.24, for a total value of $285,681.36. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 983 shares in the company, valued at $299,067.92. This trade represents a 48.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,405 shares of company stock worth $1,640,796. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $324.14 on Tuesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.00 and a fifty-two week high of $328.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $271.84 and a 200 day moving average of $278.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.37, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. BNP Paribas upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $327.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $316.21.

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.