TIAA Trust National Association Reduces Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

TIAA Trust National Association decreased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 4.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 272 shares during the quarter. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $2,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,819,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $470,091,000 after buying an additional 191,370 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,579,956 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $408,229,000 after acquiring an additional 9,920 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,448,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $374,176,000 after purchasing an additional 30,837 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,396,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $360,777,000 after purchasing an additional 4,972 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,170,010 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $302,307,000 after purchasing an additional 11,849 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $347.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Isaac Woods sold 365 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.44, for a total value of $127,180.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $589,212.04. The trade was a 17.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director James P. Keane sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.06, for a total transaction of $1,068,180.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,192 shares in the company, valued at $3,272,903.52. This represents a 24.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 30,375 shares of company stock worth $10,661,109 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.1%

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $364.18 on Tuesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.00 and a fifty-two week high of $375.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $348.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $328.92. The company has a market capitalization of $40.95 billion, a PE ratio of 42.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.41.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.15. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.14% and a net margin of 12.03%.The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.79%.

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.