Toronto Dominion Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Toronto Dominion Bank reduced its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 5.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 34,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,969 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $10,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,048,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,092,891,000 after buying an additional 438,356 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.1% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 955,574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $278,387,000 after buying an additional 54,948 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 82.4% in the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 859,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $250,461,000 after buying an additional 388,400 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 678,442 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,644,000 after buying an additional 19,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 645,485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $200,410,000 after buying an additional 35,070 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ROK shares. Barclays decreased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $256.00 price target for the company. Mizuho cut their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $322.00 to $316.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $310.00 to $304.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $300.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.27, for a total transaction of $127,617.09. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at $1,311,696. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 528 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.78, for a total value of $133,995.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,718 shares in the company, valued at $943,554.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.27, for a total value of $127,617.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,311,696. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,199 shares of company stock worth $572,750. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock traded up $6.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $277.21. 689,227 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 976,778. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.60 billion, a PE ratio of 27.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 1.37. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $249.00 and a fifty-two week high of $339.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $265.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $277.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.83% and a net margin of 13.19%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.01 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.88%.

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.