Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Holdings Decreased by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC cut its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 44 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,247,839,000 after buying an additional 11,949 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,683,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $717,865,000 after acquiring an additional 14,040 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 33.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $417,802,000 after acquiring an additional 390,784 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,128,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $303,041,000 after purchasing an additional 67,684 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $83,967.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at $961,695.36. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,857 shares of company stock valued at $10,678,037 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $302.14 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $285.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $275.06. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $308.70. The firm has a market cap of $34.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.49, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on ROK shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target for the company. Stephens upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.16.

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.