Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Asset Dedication LLC

Asset Dedication LLC decreased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 20.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $74,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $284,177,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 29,844.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 702,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $181,588,000 after purchasing an additional 700,447 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted 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 purchasing an additional 674,698 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 102.3% during 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. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 432,934 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 939 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.24, for a total value of $285,681.36. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $299,067.92. This trade represents a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 551 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total transaction of $179,796.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,147,726.41. This represents a 4.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,388 shares of company stock valued at $2,307,487. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer raised 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, May 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 target price (up from $345.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $333.11.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $343.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $38.70 billion, a PE ratio of 43.24, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $319.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $285.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.05. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.00 and a twelve month high of $348.43.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 65.99%.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.