King Luther Capital Management Corp Reduces Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

King Luther Capital Management Corp cut its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 378,287 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 63,661 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $108,111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 4,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,199,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 1,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on ROK shares. KeyCorp raised Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. HSBC raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.68.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total transaction of $145,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,905 shares in the company, valued at $552,716.70. This trade represents a 20.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $270.76 on Tuesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $308.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $283.95 and a 200 day moving average of $278.97. The firm has a market cap of $30.62 billion, a PE ratio of 33.72, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. On average, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.26%.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.