Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. reduced its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,946 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $2,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 1,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.1% during the third quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at $961,695.36. This trade represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,436 shares of company stock worth $10,832,549 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $282.27 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $288.52 and its 200-day moving average is $275.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $31.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $307.71.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.64 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ROK. Stephens upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.16.

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.