Natixis Takes Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Natixis bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,853 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $530,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 95.8% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 99.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,482,000 after buying an additional 2,582 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 462,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $132,554,000 after buying an additional 25,882 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 946 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 357.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 37,239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,643,000 after acquiring an additional 29,105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $490,242.93. This trade represents a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total value of $75,500.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,260.96. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,750 shares of company stock worth $1,075,923. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $248.64 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $274.49. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.00 and a 12-month high of $308.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.96, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ROK. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Rockwell Automation from $248.00 to $201.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.11.

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.