Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Holdings Lifted by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 19.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,038 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,128 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $9,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Markel Corp boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Markel Corp now owns 152,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,816,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 10.3% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 57,480 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,221,000 after purchasing an additional 5,386 shares during the period. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter valued at approximately $642,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.0% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,472,877 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,212,750,000 after buying an additional 106,641 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $254.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $265.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Citigroup cut their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $322.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $290.00 target price (down previously from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $305.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $310.08.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK traded down $3.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $269.96. The stock had a trading volume of 1,196,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 838,069. The stock has a market cap of $30.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.43. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $252.11 and a 12-month high of $348.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $282.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $284.17.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.62 by ($0.58). Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.22% and a net margin of 13.35%. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is presently 47.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret acquired 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $283.64 per share, for a total transaction of $992,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,901,262.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Nicholas C. Gangestad sold 1,989 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.17, for a total transaction of $573,170.13. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,217 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,520,572.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret purchased 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $283.64 per share, for a total transaction of $992,740.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,215 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,901,262.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,877 shares of company stock worth $5,058,772. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

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.