Centaurus Financial Inc. Sells 1,327 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Centaurus Financial Inc. trimmed its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,667 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,327 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc.'s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at about $284,177,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted 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 valued at $193,047,000 after acquiring an additional 674,698 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted 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 valued at $368,021,000 after acquiring an additional 651,116 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted 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 valued at $2,033,476,000 after acquiring an additional 432,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 26.2% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ROK. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup increased their target price 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. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $313.89.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK traded up $0.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $315.18. The company had a trading volume of 1,520,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 879,192. The company has a fifty day moving average of $264.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $277.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.00 and a 12 month high of $316.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share 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 issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 450 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.02, for a total transaction of $141,759.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,838 shares of the company's stock, valued at $894,026.76. This trade represents a 13.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total transaction of $75,500.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $495,260.96. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,182 shares of company stock valued at $1,555,841 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

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.