Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Sold by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.5%, owning around 172,875 shares worth approximately $44.67 million after selling 12,106 shares in the first quarter.
• Several analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for Rockwell Automation, with KeyCorp raising it to $380 and Barclays to $370, while the overall consensus rating remains a "Moderate Buy."
• Rockwell Automation is scheduled to pay a dividend of $1.31 on September 10th, which represents an annualized dividend of $5.24 and a yield of 1.5%.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lowered its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 172,875 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 12,106 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.15% of Rockwell Automation worth $44,666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ROK. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $281,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 4,195 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,199,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 95,242 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,219,000 after acquiring an additional 16,090 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 61.5% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 4,865 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,853 shares during the period. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 1,227 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK traded down $7.30 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $336.13. The company had a trading volume of 633,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 941,524. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $344.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $301.11. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.00 and a fifty-two week high of $360.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.15. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 30.14%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $392.00 price objective (up previously from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 14th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $371.00 to $363.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $340.16.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 551 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total value of $179,796.81. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,147,726.41. This trade represents a 4.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.08, for a total transaction of $735,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $361,632.64. This represents a 67.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,145 shares of company stock valued at $2,801,114. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

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.