New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 10,267 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 93,926 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,267 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.08% of Rockwell Automation worth $29,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. KLCM Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 1,136 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,728 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $780,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 676.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 32,156 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,984,000 after buying an additional 28,016 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,423 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,266,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 85,551 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,562,000 after buying an additional 4,093 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ROK shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "underweight" rating and set a $254.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. UBS Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $305.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Mizuho decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $265.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Berenberg Bank reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $290.00 price objective (down previously from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $310.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $145,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at $691,070. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $145,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $691,070. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret acquired 3,500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,215 shares in the company, valued at $21,901,262.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,877 shares of company stock valued at $5,058,772. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK traded up $3.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $280.17. The company had a trading volume of 626,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,018,615. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.43. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $252.11 and a fifty-two week high of $348.52. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $282.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $283.77.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.57%.

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.