California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 141,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 12,404 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.13% of Rockwell Automation worth $40,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RWA Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 45.1% during the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $949,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 14,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,872 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth about $7,067,000. Allianz SE bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth about $1,638,000. Finally, Allstate Corp purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $978,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total transaction of $145,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,716.70. This trade represents a 20.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE ROK opened at $260.75 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $277.15 and a 200-day moving average of $278.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $308.70. The firm has a market cap of $29.48 billion, a PE ratio of 32.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.42.

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.