Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,008,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 21,360 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $288,136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 6.4% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 23,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,205,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 1,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 17,680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,746,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 238.8% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 864 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total transaction of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,363,536. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,857 shares of company stock valued at $10,678,037. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. HSBC raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $268.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $286.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $275.05. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $304.29. The firm has a market cap of $30.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.35.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

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.