Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Gotham Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 21.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,611 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,944 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $284,177,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 85,513.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 675,487 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $193,047,000 after buying an additional 674,698 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 102.3% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,287,731 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $368,021,000 after buying an additional 651,116 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,033,476,000 after acquiring an additional 432,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $580,095,000 after purchasing an additional 430,498 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 876 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.03, for a total value of $248,810.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,219.71. This represents a 45.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total value of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,041,819.50. The trade was a 25.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,839 shares of company stock worth $2,014,256 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK traded down $0.29 on Tuesday, reaching $307.91. 162,136 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 957,692. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $256.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $275.41. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.00 and a twelve month high of $310.78. The stock has a market cap of $34.71 billion, a PE ratio of 38.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ROK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $310.37.

About Rockwell Automation

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.