B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Decreases Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG cut its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,624 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total value of $145,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,716.70. This trade represents a 20.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 876 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.03, for a total value of $248,810.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,219.71. The trade was a 45.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.1 %

ROK opened at $258.42 on Tuesday. 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 market cap of $29.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $308.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $278.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $278.91.

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

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. KeyCorp raised Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. BNP Paribas lowered Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.42.

Rockwell Automation 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.