Ninety One UK Ltd Decreases Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Ninety One UK Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 817,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 76,130 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $253,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Imprint Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 32,845.0% during the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,254,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $125,455,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,738 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 87,404.1% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,236,433 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,468,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235,020 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $215,125,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,741,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $706,004,000 after acquiring an additional 457,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,638,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $774,411,000 after acquiring an additional 320,524 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK traded down $3.99 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $274.66. The stock had a trading volume of 461,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,025,446. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $283.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $284.34. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $252.11 and a 52 week high of $348.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.62 by ($0.58). The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 37.22%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 12.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.52, for a total transaction of $140,260.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,229,519.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Rockwell Automation news, CFO Nicholas C. Gangestad sold 1,989 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.17, for a total transaction of $573,170.13. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,520,572.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.52, for a total transaction of $140,260.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,383 shares in the company, valued at $1,229,519.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,877 shares of company stock worth $5,058,772. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $254.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $360.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $269.00 to $265.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $310.08.

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.