Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $11.47 Million Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,125 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,470 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $11,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,876,530 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,965,774,000 after purchasing an additional 81,079 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 6.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,734,430 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $779,426,000 after purchasing an additional 51,228 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $580,095,000 after buying an additional 430,498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,036 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $448,701,000 after buying an additional 13,744 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.13, for a total transaction of $760,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $314,166.29. This trade represents a 70.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total value of $75,500.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at $495,260.96. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,839 shares of company stock worth $2,014,256. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock traded down $0.63 on Wednesday, hitting $312.46. The company had a trading volume of 937,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 877,243. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.00 and a 52 week high of $316.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $262.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $276.71. The company has a market cap of $35.22 billion, a PE ratio of 38.91, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32.

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

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ROK. TD Cowen raised Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $283.00 to $327.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.