UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Purchases 29,350 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,158,161 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 29,350 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 1.02% of Rockwell Automation worth $330,991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 95.8% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 181.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,095 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 1,351 shares during the period. Marathon Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $429,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,063 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at $1,429,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ROK. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. BNP Paribas upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. TD Cowen upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $310.37.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK traded up $5.49 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $311.03. 160,501 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 874,386. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $260.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $276.45. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.00 and a fifty-two week high of $319.12. The company has a market capitalization of $35.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.73, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity 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 the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is currently 65.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,500 shares of Rockwell Automation 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $314,166.29. The trade was a 70.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total transaction of $75,500.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,260.96. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,839 shares of company stock worth $2,014,256 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.