Alliancebernstein L.P. Boosts Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 102.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,287,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 651,116 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 1.14% of Rockwell Automation worth $368,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 11,949 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,683,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $717,865,000 after buying an additional 14,040 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.2% in 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 during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stephens upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. BNP Paribas downgraded Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, HSBC raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total value of $145,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,716.70. The trade was a 20.79 % decrease in their position. 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 quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $258.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $278.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $278.91. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $308.70.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

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.