Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Fiduciary Trust Co

Fiduciary Trust Co trimmed its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 21.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,593 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,037 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $2,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $284,177,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 85,513.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 675,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $193,047,000 after buying an additional 674,698 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 102.3% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,287,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $368,021,000 after acquiring an additional 651,116 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $580,095,000 after acquiring an additional 430,498 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $275.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday. Barclays increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.37.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $294.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $33.34 billion, a PE ratio of 36.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.00 and a twelve month high of $308.70. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $251.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.99%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.01, for a total transaction of $147,505.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,838 shares in the company, valued at $837,238.38. This trade represents a 14.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 1,633 shares in the company, valued at $490,242.93. This trade represents a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,250 shares of company stock worth $1,223,428 over the last ninety days. Company 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.