Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Bought by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 9.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,775 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $7,942,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,424 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,401,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $281,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 128.7% in the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 4,382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 2,466 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.02, for a total value of $160,010.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $866,934.18. This represents a 15.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 526 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.35, for a total transaction of $171,134.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $319,819.05. This trade represents a 34.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,368 shares of company stock worth $2,871,129. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on ROK. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $375.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $371.00 to $363.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $340.16.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $349.20 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $39.26 billion, a PE ratio of 40.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.00 and a 52 week high of $360.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $342.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $300.16.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.50%.

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.