Royal Bank of Canada Sells 11,596 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in Rockwell Automation by 4.6% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.21% of the company, worth around $62.5 million.
• Multiple institutional investors increased their investments in Rockwell Automation, with notable increases from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (up 84.7%) and Vident Advisory LLC (up 52.2%).
• Rockwell Automation reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.82 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.31, yielding 1.5% annually.

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 241,802 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 11,596 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.21% of Rockwell Automation worth $62,478,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citizens National Bank Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the first quarter worth about $31,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 59.6% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 166 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $340.16.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,435 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.08, for a total value of $499,494.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,318,178.96. This represents a 27.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,100 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.08, for a total transaction of $735,168.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $361,632.64. The trade was a 67.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,445 shares of company stock valued at $3,267,779 in the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:ROK traded down $2.61 during trading on Friday, reaching $339.26. 539,564 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 831,771. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $345.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $302.23. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.00 and a 52-week high of $360.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $38.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.5%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.50%.

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.