US Bancorp DE Cuts Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE reduced its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 5.2% during the first quarter, owning 76,942 shares valued at approximately $19.88 million after selling 4,214 shares.
• Rockwell Automation's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $2.45 and revenue of $2 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations despite a 5.9% year-over-year decline in revenue.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.31 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.5%, to be paid on September 10th to investors of record on August 18th.

US Bancorp DE lessened its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 76,942 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,214 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE owned 0.07% of Rockwell Automation worth $19,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 8.5% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,424 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.7% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.8% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,652 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at about $281,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 128.7% in the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 4,382 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,466 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on ROK. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $375.00 price target (up previously from $350.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. TD Cowen raised Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $392.00 price target (up previously from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $341.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 363 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,325,838.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.13, for a total value of $760,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 1,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $314,166.29. This trade represents a 70.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,757 shares of company stock valued at $3,138,220 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK traded down $4.08 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $346.08. The company had a trading volume of 1,337,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 818,069. 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 $39.01 billion, a PE ratio of 43.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.39. The business's 50 day moving average price is $335.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $293.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

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

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is presently 65.99%.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.