Andra AP fonden Lowers Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Andra AP fonden lessened its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 63.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 17,500 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $2,858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at about $246,000. Welch & Forbes LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $241,000. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 206,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $59,005,000 after purchasing an additional 39,633 shares in the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $422,000. Finally, Carmel Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,079,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total value of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $490,242.93. This trade represents a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.47.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $276.55 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $31.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $308.70. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $284.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $278.91.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

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.