Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Position Increased by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 26.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 253,398 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,532 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.22% of Rockwell Automation worth $72,419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total value of $145,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,716.70. This trade represents a 20.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 876 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.03, for a total value of $248,810.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at $300,219.71. The trade was a 45.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,839 shares of company stock valued at $2,014,256. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $283.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.37.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $307.76 on Wednesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.00 and a twelve month high of $310.78. 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 company has a market capitalization of $34.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.33, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $257.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $275.63.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued 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 company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.99%.

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.