Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.2%, now holding approximately 12.25% of the company, valued at over $3.57 billion.
• In contrast, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position dramatically by 29,844.4%, now owning 702,794 shares, highlighting contrasting trends among institutional investors.
• Rockwell Automation recently reported better-than-expected earnings of $2.82 EPS, surpassing estimates, along with a quarterly dividend announcement of $1.31 per share, reflecting a strong financial position.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 0.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,850,958 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 25,572 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.25% of Rockwell Automation worth $3,578,811,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 29,844.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 702,794 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $181,588,000 after purchasing an additional 700,447 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.5% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 432,934 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 56.9% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 935,726 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $267,421,000 after buying an additional 339,480 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 289.6% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 416,893 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $119,144,000 after acquiring an additional 309,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,819,379 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $470,091,000 after acquiring an additional 191,370 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 551 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total transaction of $179,796.81. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 12,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,147,726.41. The trade was a 4.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 363 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.32, for a total transaction of $118,454.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,325,838.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,257 shares of company stock valued at $2,990,715 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of ROK stock opened at $332.96 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.00 and a 1 year high of $360.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.53 billion, a PE ratio of 39.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $336.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $293.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is presently 65.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $375.00 price target (up from $350.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $340.53.

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.

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