Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Sold by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

Key Points

• British Columbia Investment Management Corp reduced its stake in Rockwell Automation by 43.2%, selling 62,612 shares and now owns approximately 0.07% of the company valued at $21.27 million.
• Rockwell Automation's stock increased by 3.3%, with the current market capitalization at $39.44 billion and a PE ratio of 41.17.
• The company reported $2.82 EPS for the recent quarter, surpassing estimates, with a 4.5% revenue growth compared to the previous year.

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp cut its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 43.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 82,303 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 62,612 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Rockwell Automation worth $21,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 29,844.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 702,794 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $181,588,000 after purchasing an additional 700,447 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth approximately $63,632,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 213.7% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 357,080 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $92,263,000 after purchasing an additional 243,249 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,819,379 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $470,091,000 after purchasing an additional 191,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,391,331 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $397,628,000 after purchasing an additional 171,604 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 3.3%

NYSE:ROK opened at $350.7550 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.44 billion, a PE ratio of 41.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $341.12 and a 200-day moving average of $298.64. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.00 and a 52 week high of $360.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is 61.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ROK shares. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $371.00 to $363.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. CICC Research started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $360.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $392.00 price objective (up from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.16.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.35, for a total transaction of $171,134.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $319,819.05. This represents a 34.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.02, for a total value of $160,010.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $866,934.18. This represents a 15.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,818 shares of company stock valued at $1,944,708. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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