BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Increases Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 85.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,915 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 66,608 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned approximately 0.13% of Rockwell Automation worth $41,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,158,161 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $330,991,000 after purchasing an additional 29,350 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 158.7% in the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 2,398 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $685,000 after buying an additional 1,471 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 4,484 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,282,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC now owns 166,890 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,695,000 after buying an additional 1,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 103,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,436,000 after buying an additional 35,700 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.1%

ROK stock opened at $307.76 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $257.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $275.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.33, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.00 and a fifty-two week high of $310.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.99%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total value of $75,500.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at $495,260.96. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 876 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.03, for a total transaction of $248,810.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,057 shares of the company's stock, valued at $300,219.71. This represents a 45.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,839 shares of company stock valued at $2,014,256. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Loop Capital increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $283.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $310.37.

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.

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