Capital World Investors Reduces Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Capital World Investors reduced its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 55.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,337,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,923,829 shares during the period. Capital World Investors’ holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $725,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $348,000. Eisler Capital UK Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $520,000. Edge Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 15,502 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,813,000 after buying an additional 5,082 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,964,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 52,642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,344,000 after purchasing an additional 12,695 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $290.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Berenberg Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $290.00 target price (down previously from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $254.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.21.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ROK traded up $4.55 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $259.54. The company had a trading volume of 566,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,003,580. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $251.28 and a one year high of $348.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.93, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $274.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $283.44.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.35. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 34.83%. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 10.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.88%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 659 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.11, for a total transaction of $171,412.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,204,309.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.27, for a total value of $127,617.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,311,696. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 659 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.11, for a total transaction of $171,412.49. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,204,309.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.