State of Alaska Department of Revenue Trims Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue trimmed its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 540 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $5,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Imprint Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 32,845.0% in the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,254,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $125,455,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,738 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 87,404.1% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,236,433 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,468,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235,020 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $215,125,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,741,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $706,004,000 after purchasing an additional 457,383 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,638,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $774,411,000 after purchasing an additional 320,524 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of ROK opened at $283.23 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $32.46 billion, a PE ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a fifty day moving average of $284.03 and a 200 day moving average of $284.55. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $252.11 and a 52-week high of $348.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by ($0.58). The company had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.22% and a net margin of 13.35%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 12.29 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret purchased 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $283.64 per share, for a total transaction of $992,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,215 shares in the company, valued at $21,901,262.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret bought 3,500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $283.64 per share, for a total transaction of $992,740.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,901,262.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Nicholas C. Gangestad sold 1,989 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.17, for a total value of $573,170.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,520,572.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,877 shares of company stock worth $5,058,772 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $254.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Citigroup dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $351.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.36.

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.