Royal Bank of Canada Purchases 52,532 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 26.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 253,398 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 52,532 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.22% of Rockwell Automation worth $72,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth approximately $284,177,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 85,513.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 675,487 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $193,047,000 after purchasing an additional 674,698 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 102.3% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,287,731 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $368,021,000 after purchasing an additional 651,116 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in the fourth 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. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $580,095,000 after acquiring an additional 430,498 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 876 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.03, for a total value of $248,810.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,219.71. The trade was a 45.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 939 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.24, for a total transaction of $285,681.36. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $299,067.92. The trade was a 48.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,839 shares of company stock worth $2,014,256 over the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of ROK stock traded down $0.80 on Friday, hitting $305.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 481,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 876,047. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.00 and a fifty-two week high of $310.78. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $260.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $276.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. The business's revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $283.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $310.37.

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.