Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Grows Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,048 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ROK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,048,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,092,891,000 after purchasing an additional 438,356 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 951.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,532,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,611,915,000 after buying an additional 5,006,706 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 32.0% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,510,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $439,912,000 after acquiring an additional 365,795 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.1% in the first 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. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 82.4% in the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 859,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $250,461,000 after acquiring an additional 388,400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.37, for a total transaction of $63,579.76. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,088,547.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 659 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.11, for a total transaction of $171,412.49. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,204,309.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.37, for a total transaction of $63,579.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,088,547.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,732 shares of company stock worth $445,133 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock traded up $7.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $270.98. 512,920 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 945,347. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $266.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $272.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $317.74. The firm has a market cap of $30.89 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 34.83%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.01 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $280.14.

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.