Bridges Investment Management Inc. Has $417,000 Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 202 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 4,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,199,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 1,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,741 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.67, for a total transaction of $516,502.47. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 80,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,825,271.03. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at $329,114.56. This trade represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,147 shares of company stock valued at $2,680,378. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $278.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $285.83 and a 200-day moving average of $278.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.46 billion, a PE ratio of 34.65, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ROK. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. HSBC upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.55.

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.