Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by North Star Asset Management Inc.

North Star Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,373 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,105 shares during the quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $15,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 181.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,095 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 1,351 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,063 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $1,429,000. Ninety One North America Inc. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 34,632 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,897,000 after buying an additional 1,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,968,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $283.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $310.37.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total transaction of $75,500.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at $495,260.96. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total value of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,041,819.50. This trade represents a 25.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,839 shares of company stock valued at $2,014,256. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock traded down $0.63 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $312.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 937,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 877,693. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.00 and a 12-month high of $314.75. The company has a market capitalization of $35.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $262.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $276.71.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.50 EPS. The company's revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.99%.

Rockwell Automation 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.