BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires 41,516 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 35.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 160,014 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,516 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.14% of Rockwell Automation worth $46,617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 955,574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $278,387,000 after acquiring an additional 54,948 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 678,442 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,644,000 after buying an additional 19,656 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 645,485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $200,410,000 after buying an additional 35,070 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 579,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $179,775,000 after buying an additional 23,084 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 420,099 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $129,247,000 after purchasing an additional 89,207 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.27, for a total value of $127,617.09. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at $1,311,696. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 659 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.11, for a total value of $171,412.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,204,309.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.27, for a total value of $127,617.09. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,311,696. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,199 shares of company stock worth $572,750 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $290.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $310.00 to $304.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $322.00 to $316.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $305.08.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK traded down $2.27 on Friday, reaching $264.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 490,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 950,510. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $265.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $280.46. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $249.00 and a 12-month high of $348.52.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.35. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 34.83%. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 10.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.88%.

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.