AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Raises Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 25.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,394 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,281 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $13,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 141 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.02, for a total value of $160,010.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,709 shares in the company, valued at $866,934.18. The trade was a 15.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.13, for a total transaction of $760,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,033 shares in the company, valued at $314,166.29. This represents a 70.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,405 shares of company stock valued at $1,640,796. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Cowen upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $327.00 to $371.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $316.21.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock traded up $4.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $324.56. The company had a trading volume of 750,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 880,084. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $270.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $278.69. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.00 and a 52-week high of $324.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $36.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.42, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.38.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.99%.

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.