GAM Holding AG Lowers Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

GAM Holding AG reduced its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 43.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,920 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,794 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,876,530 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,965,774,000 after buying an additional 81,079 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,033,476,000 after buying an additional 432,934 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,734,430 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $779,426,000 after buying an additional 51,228 shares during the period. Amundi increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $580,095,000 after buying an additional 430,498 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,036 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $448,701,000 after buying an additional 13,744 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.24, for a total value of $285,681.36. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 983 shares of the company's stock, valued at $299,067.92. This trade represents a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.13, for a total value of $760,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $314,166.29. The trade was a 70.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,681 shares of company stock valued at $2,382,987. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $327.00 to $371.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Loop Capital upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. BNP Paribas upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $283.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $317.79.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE ROK traded down $0.84 on Friday, reaching $320.97. 1,083,786 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 877,072. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.00 and a 12 month high of $328.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $288.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $280.60. The stock has a market cap of $36.18 billion, a PE ratio of 40.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.38.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.16%. 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 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.