Simmons Bank Decreases Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

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

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 2.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,752,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $786,778,000 after purchasing an additional 70,272 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted 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 buying an additional 172,577 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,518,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $434,181,000 after buying an additional 3,845 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,399,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $399,954,000 after acquiring an additional 43,992 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 900,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $279,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,736 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, CFO Nicholas C. Gangestad sold 1,989 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.17, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Nicholas C. Gangestad sold 1,989 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,217 shares in the company, valued at $3,520,572.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret purchased 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $283.64 per share, with a total value of $992,740.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,901,262.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,240 shares of company stock worth $4,891,324 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ROK. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $310.00 to $304.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank restated a “hold” rating and issued a $290.00 price objective (down from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $308.36.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.5 %

ROK stock traded up $1.39 on Wednesday, hitting $273.43. 1,063,943 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,019,818. The stock has a market cap of $31.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.43. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $281.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $283.11. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $252.11 and a 12-month high of $348.52.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.35. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.22% and a net margin of 13.35%. 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 previous year, the business earned $3.01 EPS. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.83%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.57%.

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.