Prudential PLC Buys 2,553 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Prudential PLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 38.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,269 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,553 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $2,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $457,000. World Investment Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at $670,000. Westpac Banking Corp acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth $132,000. Bryce Point Capital LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,005,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 215,920 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $61,708,000 after acquiring an additional 921 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total value of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,819.50. This represents a 25.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total value of $75,500.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at $495,260.96. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,750 shares of company stock worth $1,075,923 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock traded down $3.87 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $226.29. The company had a trading volume of 435,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 865,982. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $215.00 and a one year high of $308.70. The firm has a market cap of $25.59 billion, a PE ratio of 28.19, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $268.95 and a 200 day moving average of $276.84. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $248.00 to $201.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $300.63.

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.