Vontobel Holding Ltd. Has $5.47 Million Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lowered its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,122 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,276 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $5,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 45,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares during the period. Buckhead Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 15,781 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth $144,000. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP now owns 18,006 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,146,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth $479,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares in the company, valued at $490,242.93. The trade was a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,114.56. This trade represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,707 shares of company stock worth $10,933,215 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $294.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $286.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $275.97. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $308.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

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.