Simmons Bank Sells 67 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Simmons Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 67 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33,600.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,213 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,658,000 after purchasing an additional 294,337 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,908,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $545,474,000 after buying an additional 172,577 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,275,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 35.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 484,438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $139,247,000 after acquiring an additional 127,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,294.7% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 127,891 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,560,000 after acquiring an additional 118,721 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $310.00 to $304.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $312.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $254.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.36.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK stock traded up $1.39 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $273.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,063,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,019,818. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $281.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $283.11. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $252.11 and a 1-year high of $348.52. The company has a market cap of $31.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.97, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.43.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.35. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 37.22%. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.01 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 47.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret bought 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $283.64 per share, for a total transaction of $992,740.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,901,262.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Robert L. Buttermore sold 201 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total transaction of $55,777.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,311 shares in the company, valued at $641,302.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret purchased 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $283.64 per share, with a total value of $992,740.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 77,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,901,262.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,240 shares of company stock worth $4,891,324. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.