Ninety One UK Ltd reduced its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 85.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,437 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 490,488 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd owned approximately 0.07% of Rockwell Automation worth $21,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,876,530 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,965,774,000 after purchasing an additional 81,079 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,033,476,000 after acquiring an additional 432,934 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,734,430 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $779,426,000 after acquiring an additional 51,228 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,417,323 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $405,057,000 after acquiring an additional 53,287 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 171,604 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.
Rockwell Automation Price Performance
Shares of ROK traded up $4.91 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $345.17. 807,120 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 866,714. The stock has a market cap of $38.91 billion, a PE ratio of 43.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $313.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $284.42. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.00 and a 12 month high of $348.43.
Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. The firm 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 company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.50 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.
Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend
The company 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 dividend of $1.31 per share. 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 1.52%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is 65.99%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms have recently weighed in on ROK. Loop Capital increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $332.00.
Read Our Latest Analysis on ROK
Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation
In related news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.02, for a total transaction of $160,010.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $866,934.18. This trade represents a 15.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.24, for a total value of $285,681.36. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $299,067.92. This represents a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,388 shares of company stock worth $2,307,487 in the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
About Rockwell Automation
(
Free Report)
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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