Covea Finance Acquires 24,900 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Covea Finance increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 73.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,823 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 24,900 shares during the period. Covea Finance owned approximately 0.05% of Rockwell Automation worth $15,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 141 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ROK. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $360.00 target price (up previously from $345.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $283.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $327.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $317.79.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 223 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.97, for a total value of $70,015.31. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,007,529.73. This represents a 6.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 363 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.32, for a total transaction of $118,454.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,325,838.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,681 shares of company stock valued at $2,382,987 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of ROK stock opened at $320.97 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.00 and a 12 month high of $328.90. The stock has a market cap of $36.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $288.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $280.81.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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