AGF Management Ltd. Sells 121,047 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

AGF Management Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 47.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 132,401 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 121,047 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $37,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 95.8% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 99.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,582 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at about $912,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,184,000 after acquiring an additional 1,928 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 462,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $132,554,000 after acquiring an additional 25,882 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $265.53 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $283.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $278.93. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $308.70. 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 stock has a market cap of $30.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. Analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ROK shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stephens raised 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 report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.68.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total value of $145,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,905 shares in the company, valued at $552,716.70. This trade represents a 20.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $490,242.93. This trade 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 valued at $1,246,298 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.