Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Makes New Investment in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise invested approximately $1.06 million in Rockwell Automation, acquiring 4,103 shares of the company in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Wellington Management Group, significantly increased their stakes in Rockwell Automation, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Rockwell Automation announced a quarterly dividend of $1.31 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.5%, set to be paid on September 10th.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 4,103 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,060,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ROK. Baldwin Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 2,386 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.7% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 11,595 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,996,000 after acquiring an additional 1,025 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 21.7% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 184,456 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,660,000 after acquiring an additional 32,873 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,034 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,042,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 51,676 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $13,352,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ROK. Bank of America upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $375.00 price target (up previously from $350.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $341.11.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 269 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.26, for a total value of $95,564.94. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $573,034.38. This represents a 14.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 297 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total transaction of $96,914.07. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 1,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $551,790.21. The trade was a 14.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,757 shares of company stock valued at $3,138,220 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.9%

ROK stock traded down $2.98 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $347.18. The company had a trading volume of 613,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 921,355. The company has a 50 day moving average of $335.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $293.01. The company has a market capitalization of $39.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.73, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.00 and a 1 year high of $360.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 11.38%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.99%.

About Rockwell Automation

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.