Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Acquired by Natixis Advisors L.P.

Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 32,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,125 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $9,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ROK. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33,600.1% in 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 buying an additional 294,337 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,908,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $545,474,000 after purchasing an additional 172,577 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,275,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 484,438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $139,247,000 after purchasing an additional 127,303 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in 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 worth $36,560,000 after purchasing an additional 118,721 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK stock opened at $273.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $281.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $283.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.43. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $252.11 and a 1 year high of $348.52.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.22% and a net margin of 13.35%. The business’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.01 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret acquired 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, for a total transaction of $992,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 77,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,901,262.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Nicholas C. Gangestad sold 1,989 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.17, for a total value of $573,170.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,217 shares in the company, valued at $3,520,572.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret acquired 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $283.64 per share, with a total value of $992,740.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 17,240 shares of company stock worth $4,891,324. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ROK. Citigroup reduced their price target on Rockwell Automation from $322.00 to $316.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays reduced their price target on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Rockwell Automation from $310.00 to $304.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $312.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.93.

Rockwell Automation 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.