Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,925 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $30,419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,876,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,965,774,000 after buying an additional 81,079 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,734,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $779,426,000 after purchasing an additional 51,228 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $580,095,000 after purchasing an additional 430,498 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $448,701,000 after purchasing an additional 13,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,417,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $405,057,000 after buying an additional 53,287 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on ROK shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $283.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. BNP Paribas raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.11.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the business’s 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 approximately $495,260.96. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total value of $351,364.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,819.50. This trade represents a 25.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,075,923. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.2 %

ROK stock opened at $232.97 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $266.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $276.11. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.00 and a 12 month high of $308.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.34 billion, a PE ratio of 29.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. Equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share 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. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.26%.

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.