Erste Asset Management GmbH lessened its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK – Free Report) by 18.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,534 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $2,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 97.5% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 109.5% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 88 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.
Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.8%
Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $459.96 on Wednesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $305.44 and a 52-week high of $468.11. The company has a market capitalization of $51.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $422.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $405.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.09.
Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.38%.
Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms recently commented on ROK. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price objective (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $451.75.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Rockwell Automation
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $446.43, for a total transaction of $1,133,039.34. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,232 shares in the company, valued at $6,353,591.76. This trade represents a 15.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total transaction of $173,612.27. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,043,282.87. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 12,308 shares of company stock worth $5,339,812 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.
About Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation is a global industrial automation and digital transformation company headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The firm designs, manufactures and supports control systems, industrial control hardware and software, and related services that help manufacturers and industrial operators automate processes, improve productivity and enable data-driven decision making. Rockwell traces its heritage to the Allen-Bradley and Rockwell automation businesses and positions itself as a provider of integrated automation solutions across discrete and process industries.
The company’s product portfolio includes programmable logic controllers (PLCs), human-machine interfaces (HMIs), variable frequency drives, sensors, safety components and other industrial control hardware, often marketed under the Allen-Bradley brand.
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