KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Boosts Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,370 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $10,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $281,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 4,195 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,199,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,063 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 151,583 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $43,321,000 after buying an additional 25,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Wealth Management LLC DE purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $360.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Stephens raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. TD Cowen upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $341.11.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of ROK stock traded up $1.86 during trading on Friday, hitting $358.87. 642,538 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 782,185. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.38. 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $329.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.80. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.00 and a 52-week high of $360.92.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is presently 65.99%.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 526 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.35, for a total value of $171,134.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 983 shares of the company's stock, valued at $319,819.05. The trade was a 34.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 297 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total value of $96,914.07. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $551,790.21. The trade was a 14.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,757 shares of company stock worth $3,138,220. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.