Intech Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 188.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 18,641 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $8,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,752,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $786,778,000 after buying an additional 70,272 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted 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 worth $434,181,000 after purchasing an additional 3,845 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,399,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $399,954,000 after purchasing an additional 43,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 900,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $279,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,736 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on ROK. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $290.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $254.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $322.00 to $316.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $310.00 to $304.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank restated a “hold” rating and issued a $290.00 target price (down from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.93.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.59, for a total transaction of $43,138.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,199 shares in the company, valued at $344,820.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Rockwell Automation news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.27, for a total value of $127,617.09. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at $1,311,696. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.59, for a total transaction of $43,138.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $344,820.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,006 shares of company stock valued at $4,822,904. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.8 %

Rockwell Automation stock traded up $2.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $264.18. The company had a trading volume of 592,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 945,961. The firm has a market cap of $30.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.82, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.11. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $252.11 and a 1 year high of $348.52. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $277.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $283.65.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 34.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.01 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 10.16 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 given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.88%.

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.