Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC reduced its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,729 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,550 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Rockwell Automation worth $17,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total value of $255,178.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $490,242.93. This represents a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 36,240 shares of company stock valued at $10,800,555. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK traded down $1.88 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $299.27. The stock had a trading volume of 658,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 848,313. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.27, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.35. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $308.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $286.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $276.50.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. On average, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ROK. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $308.05.

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.