Portland Global Advisors LLC Sells 168 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Portland Global Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 30,818 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 168 shares during the quarter. Rockwell Automation comprises 1.1% of Portland Global Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Portland Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $8,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in 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 worth $4,135,000 after buying an additional 1,872 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,067,000. Allianz SE bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth $1,638,000. Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at $978,000. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 48,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,775,000 after buying an additional 17,336 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. BNP Paribas downgraded Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total transaction of $145,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,716.70. This represents a 20.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298 in the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $258.22 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $278.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $278.76. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $308.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.20 billion, a PE ratio of 32.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend 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.