Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,742 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $13,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.2% during the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 95.8% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 99.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,582 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at about $912,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $308.05.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James P. Keane sold 2,000 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.00, for a total value of $592,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,518 shares in the company, valued at $3,409,328. This trade represents a 14.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 36,240 shares of company stock valued at $10,800,555. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE ROK traded up $3.55 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $302.89. The company had a trading volume of 904,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 850,792. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $308.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $286.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $276.66. 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 $34.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.72, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.35.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. Equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 65.26%.

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.