Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Bought by Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 166,890 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,458 shares during the quarter. Rockwell Automation comprises about 2.5% of Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Rockwell Automation worth $47,695,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.24, for a total value of $285,681.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $299,067.92. This represents a 48.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,819.50. This trade represents a 25.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,839 shares of company stock worth $2,014,256 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $308.89 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $34.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.47, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business’s 50 day moving average is $255.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $275.13. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.00 and a 52-week high of $310.78.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ROK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $283.00 to $327.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.