Park Avenue Securities LLC Lowers Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Park Avenue Securities LLC trimmed its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 13.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 830 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at $284,177,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 29,844.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 702,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $181,588,000 after acquiring an additional 700,447 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 85,513.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 675,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $193,047,000 after acquiring an additional 674,698 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 102.3% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,287,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $368,021,000 after acquiring an additional 651,116 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,033,476,000 after purchasing an additional 432,934 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $325.06 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $36.64 billion, a PE ratio of 40.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.38. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.00 and a 1 year high of $328.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $275.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $279.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate 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 Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the topic of several research reports. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $316.21.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total transaction of $75,500.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at $495,260.96. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.01, for a total value of $147,505.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,838 shares in the company, valued at $837,238.38. This trade represents a 14.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,681 shares of company stock valued at $2,382,987. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.