Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 29.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 63,339 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,301 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.06% of Rockwell Automation worth $16,366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 81,079 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 51,228 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,417,323 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $405,057,000 after acquiring an additional 53,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,391,331 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $397,628,000 after acquiring an additional 171,604 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK traded up $1.86 on Friday, hitting $358.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 642,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 782,185. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $329.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.80. The firm has a market cap 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. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.00 and a 12 month high of $360.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 65.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ROK. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $341.11.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 551 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total value of $179,796.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,147,726.41. This trade represents a 4.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.24, for a total transaction of $285,681.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $299,067.92. The trade was a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,757 shares of company stock worth $3,138,220. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.