Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Acquires Shares of 868 Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 868 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $881,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth about $4,020,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 1,174 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $213,000. Finally, Granite Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 37.6% during the fourth quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 72,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,670,000 after acquiring an additional 19,755 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.11.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.5 %

ROK opened at $231.51 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $264.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $275.53. The company has a market capitalization of $26.18 billion, a PE ratio of 28.83, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $215.00 and a 1-year high of $308.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 65.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $490,242.93. This trade represents a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total value of $75,500.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,260.96. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,750 shares of company stock worth $1,075,923. Company 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.