FIL Ltd Buys 45,862 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

FIL Ltd raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 265,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,862 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $75,822,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 95.8% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 99.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,582 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.0% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 462,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $132,554,000 after purchasing an additional 25,882 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 7.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $490,242.93. The trade was a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,645 shares of company stock worth $1,321,798 in the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK stock opened at $242.26 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $269.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $277.06. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.00 and a fifty-two week high of $308.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.39 billion, a PE ratio of 30.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released 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 return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. Analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. HSBC upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Rockwell Automation from $248.00 to $201.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $301.68.

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.