National Pension Service Sells 167,122 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

National Pension Service trimmed its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 54.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 139,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 167,122 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.12% of Rockwell Automation worth $39,929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 4,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,199,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 1,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK stock opened at $287.51 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $308.70. The firm has a market cap of $32.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $286.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $278.35.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,741 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.67, for a total value of $516,502.47. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 80,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,825,271.03. This trade represents a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $490,242.93. The trade was a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,540 shares of company stock worth $1,935,134. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ROK. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. HSBC raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Stephens raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.55.

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.