BNP Paribas increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 109.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,175 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,703 shares during the period. BNP Paribas' holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $284,177,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 85,513.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 675,487 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $193,047,000 after acquiring an additional 674,698 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 102.3% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,287,731 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $368,021,000 after buying an additional 651,116 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,033,476,000 after acquiring an additional 432,934 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $580,095,000 after buying an additional 430,498 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts have issued reports on ROK shares. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $297.11.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on ROK
Rockwell Automation Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:ROK traded up $29.96 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $283.01. The stock had a trading volume of 2,254,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 871,669. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $251.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.00 and a 52 week high of $308.70.
Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 65.26%.
Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation
In other news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total transaction of $75,500.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,260.96. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 876 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.03, for a total value of $248,810.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares of the company's stock, valued at $300,219.71. The trade was a 45.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,750 shares of company stock worth $1,075,923. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.
Rockwell Automation Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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