Korea Investment CORP Purchases 30,890 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Korea Investment CORP increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 66.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 77,046 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,890 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.07% of Rockwell Automation worth $22,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,876,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,965,774,000 after purchasing an additional 81,079 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted 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 worth $1,247,839,000 after buying an additional 11,949 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,683,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $717,865,000 after acquiring an additional 14,040 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $580,095,000 after acquiring an additional 430,498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 13,744 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $258.22 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $308.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $29.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.16, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $278.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $278.76.

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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total value of $255,178.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $490,242.93. This represents a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on ROK. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.42.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.