Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Acquired by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 142.8%, owning 3,582 shares valued at $926,000 as of the last reporting period.
• Analysts have given Rockwell Automation a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with price targets ranging from $290.00 to $410.00.
• Rockwell Automation declared a quarterly dividend of $1.31 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.5%.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 142.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,582 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,107 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 25,395 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,562,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 9.4% in the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,707 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $958,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the first quarter valued at approximately $233,000. S Bank Fund Management Ltd purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the first quarter worth approximately $5,354,000. Finally, National Pension Service grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 13.6% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 158,687 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,002,000 after acquiring an additional 18,971 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of ROK traded down $0.3340 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $339.2860. The company's stock had a trading volume of 294,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 942,888. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.00 and a 12-month high of $360.92. The stock has a market cap of $38.15 billion, a PE ratio of 39.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company's 50 day moving average is $340.16 and its 200 day moving average is $297.42.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.14% and a net margin of 12.03%.The firm's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 363 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.32, for a total transaction of $118,454.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,325,838.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 297 shares of the business'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 $96,914.07. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at $551,790.21. The trade was a 14.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,818 shares of company stock worth $1,944,708 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. CICC Research initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $371.00 to $363.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $345.00 price target on Rockwell Automation and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $340.16.

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.