Northern Trust Corp Grows Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.4%, owning approximately 1.23% of the company, valued at $360.8 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Rockwell Automation reported better-than-expected earnings with an EPS of $2.82 for the recent quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.15, alongside a year-over-year revenue increase of 4.5%.
• A quarterly dividend of $1.31 has been declared, with an annualized yield of 1.5%, reflecting a payout ratio of 61.5%.

Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,396,303 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,972 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.23% of Rockwell Automation worth $360,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ROK. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 29,844.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 702,794 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $181,588,000 after acquiring an additional 700,447 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 432,934 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 56.9% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 935,726 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $267,421,000 after buying an additional 339,480 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 289.6% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 416,893 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $119,144,000 after buying an additional 309,893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth about $63,632,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK stock traded up $11.2350 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $350.7550. 663,160 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,079,796. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $341.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $298.45. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $215.00 and a 1-year high of $360.92. The firm has a market cap of $39.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.17, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.15. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 30.14%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 363 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.32, for a total value of $118,454.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,325,838.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 297 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total transaction of $96,914.07. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,691 shares in the company, valued at $551,790.21. This trade represents a 14.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,818 shares of company stock worth $1,944,708 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $345.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.16.

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.