Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,174 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $9,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on ROK shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stephens raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $300.63.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,633 shares in the company, valued at $490,242.93. This trade represents a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $248,810.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,219.71. This trade represents a 45.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,750 shares of company stock worth $1,075,923. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK opened at $229.01 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.00 and a 52-week high of $308.70. The company has a 50 day moving average of $268.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $276.64. The company has a market cap of $25.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. 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 (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. On average, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.26%.

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.