Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Purchased by Toronto Dominion Bank

Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 28.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 50,382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 11,269 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $14,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 95.8% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 99.1% during 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. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 181.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 1,351 shares in the last quarter. Marathon Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $429,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,063 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the topic of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. TD Cowen upgraded 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, May 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,819.50. The trade was a 25.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at $495,260.96. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,839 shares of company stock valued at $2,014,256. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK stock opened at $308.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.37, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.00 and a 52-week high of $310.78. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $256.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $275.41.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

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

Rockwell Automation 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.