APG Asset Management N.V. Sells 1,400 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• APG Asset Management N.V. reduced its stake in Rockwell Automation, selling 1,400 shares, bringing its total holdings down to 60,800 shares, valued at approximately $14.54 million.
• Rockwell Automation recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.82 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, while its revenue was $2.14 billion, a 4.5% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.31 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.5%, to be paid on September 10th to shareholders of record as of August 18th.

APG Asset Management N.V. lessened its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,800 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,400 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. owned about 0.05% of Rockwell Automation worth $14,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ROK. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 29,844.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 702,794 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $181,588,000 after acquiring an additional 700,447 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth approximately $63,632,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 213.7% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 357,080 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $92,263,000 after purchasing an additional 243,249 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,819,379 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $470,091,000 after purchasing an additional 191,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,391,331 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $397,628,000 after purchasing an additional 171,604 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 269 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.26, for a total value of $95,564.94. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $573,034.38. The trade was a 14.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.35, for a total transaction of $171,134.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 983 shares of the company's stock, valued at $319,819.05. This represents a 34.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,368 shares of company stock valued at $2,871,129 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE ROK traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $349.44. 920,785 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 944,867. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $342.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $300.16. The company has a market capitalization of $39.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.00 and a 12 month high of $360.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.15. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 30.14%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.71 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $371.00 to $363.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $392.00 target price (up previously from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $340.16.

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.