Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Reduces Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lessened its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,332 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $15,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,648 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $417,802,000 after buying an additional 390,784 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 408,336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $116,682,000 after purchasing an additional 88,962 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 229.5% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 102,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,250,000 after buying an additional 71,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,128,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $303,041,000 after purchasing an additional 67,684 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. HSBC raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. BNP Paribas lowered Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.55.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 1,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.61, for a total value of $390,691.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $317,286.99. This represents a 55.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,741 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.67, for a total transaction of $516,502.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 80,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,825,271.03. This represents a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,540 shares of company stock valued at $1,935,134. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.5 %

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $287.38 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $286.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $278.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.79, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.35. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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