Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Has $1.40 Million Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 46.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,911 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,552 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $318,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,648 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $251,326,000 after purchasing an additional 933,025 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $417,802,000 after purchasing an additional 390,784 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 408,336 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $116,682,000 after purchasing an additional 88,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 229.5% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 102,347 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,250,000 after purchasing an additional 71,288 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 279 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.13, for a total transaction of $82,620.27. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,891 shares in the company, valued at $856,111.83. The trade was a 8.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,633 shares in the company, valued at $490,242.93. This represents a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,240 shares of company stock worth $10,800,555 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK stock traded down $8.23 on Friday, reaching $294.95. 1,113,483 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 858,529. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $308.70. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $286.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $276.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.35 billion, a PE ratio of 36.73, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $355.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $313.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $308.05.

About Rockwell Automation

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.