Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 81,079 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,876,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 81,079 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.28% of Rockwell Automation worth $3,965,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ROK. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,247,839,000 after acquiring an additional 11,949 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,683,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $717,865,000 after purchasing an additional 14,040 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $580,095,000 after purchasing an additional 430,498 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $448,701,000 after purchasing an additional 13,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,128,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $303,041,000 after buying an additional 67,684 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on ROK shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.68.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 3.7 %

ROK stock opened at $268.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $30.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.41, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $279.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $278.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,819.50. The trade was a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the sale, the vice president now 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 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.